Challengers Hides A Dark Twist That Completely Changes Tashi & Art's Relationship

WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Challengers.

Summary Challengers, starring Zendaya, has become one of the most talked-about films of 2024 with a successful box-office opening.

The film has received critical acclaim and has sparked Oscar buzz for Zendaya's performance as Tashi in the movie.

A potential twist in the film involving Tashi's daughter Lily's parentage could add even more tension between Art and Patrick.

A potential under-the-radar twist in Challengers could have major implications for Tashi's daughter, Lily. Since releasing in theaters on April 26, 2024, Challengers has quickly become one of the most widely-discussed films of the year with a career-best opening box-office performance for Zendaya as the lead in a non-IP, original film. Challengers earned an impressive $15 million domestically in its opening weekend and is already on a fast track to surpass director Luca Guadagnino's highest-grossing film, Call Me By Your Name (2017).

Challengers has received nearly universal acclaim, earning an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes and inspiring early Oscar buzz for Zendaya, who also recently starred in the highest-grossing film of 2024 as of April, Dune: Part Two. Challengers has instantly solidified itself as one of Guadagnino's best movies of his directorial career and has a great chance at generating more Oscar consideration in the areas of directing and original score, among others. While the ending of Challengers finds Art (Mike Faist) and Patrick (Josh O'Connor) finally settling their differences, Tashi's daughter could still be a point of contention.

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Related Does Tashi Love Art Or Patrick? Challengers' Complicated Love Triangle Explained Luca Guadagnino's Challengers follows a complicated love triangle between Tashi, Art, and Patrick over 13 years – but does Tashi love either of them?

Challengers' Timeline Could Mean Patrick Is The Father Of Tashi's Daughter

Patrick and Tashi hooked up in Atlanta in 2011

Image via MGM

It's entirely plausible that Tashi's one-night stand with Patrick led to her pregnancy with Lily, who was born roughly one year after Patrick and her got together.

The romantic timeline between Patrick and Tashi could mean that Art's daughter, Lily, isn't actually his. Patrick and Tashi had originally dated back in 2006 just a few weeks after he and Art first met her. As it would turn out, they ultimately broke up in 2007 after Patrick failed to show up during Tashi's career-ending injury. Art and Tashi both attend college at Stanford, where Tashi becomes Art's coach and the two start a relationship that eventually leads to marriage and a child.

Unbeknownst to Art, Patrick and Tashi hooked up in Atlanta in 2011, which is where the true identity of Lily's father becomes somewhat ambiguous. It's entirely plausible that Tashi's one-night stand with Patrick led to her pregnancy with Lily, who was born roughly one year after Patrick and her got together. Lily is around the age of seven during the Rochelle's challenger match, indicating that, while unconfirmed, Patrick could be Lily's real father.

Related The Real Meaning Of Challengers' Churro Scene & Why It's So Important A churro scene between Mike Faist's Art and Josh O'Connor's Patrick is one of the most talked about moments in Challengers, but what does it mean?

Patrick Being Lily's Dad Makes Tashi's Relationship With Art Much Darker

Patrick's constant taunts and jabs at Art would take on a whole new meaning

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Knowing how coordinated Tashi is, however, it would seem uncharacteristic of her to be so careless with Patrick, but it's evident that she was never the same after her life-changing injury.

There aren't many concrete clues that point to Patrick being the father of Tashi's child, as Guadagnino's film is mostly fueled by implicit tension and subliminal, often suppressed feelings. Neither Tashi nor Patrick reveal many details about the nature of their affairs or whether they used protection. Knowing how coordinated Tashi is, however, it would seem uncharacteristic of her to be so careless with Patrick, but it's evident that she was never the same after her life-changing injury. If Patrick is truly Lily's father, and if he secretly knew this all along, his various taunts and jabs at Art throughout Challengers would take on a whole new, much darker meaning.

Related 10 Challengers Scenes That Prove Zendaya Deserves Her First Oscar Nomination Zendaya could plausibly be nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Challengers as the complex and competitive tennis prodigy-turned-coach Tashi.