Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the tennis drama stars Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor as longtime friends whose relationships combust on and off the court.

In the new movie “Challengers,” director Luca Guadagnino pulls off a neat trick. The Italian filmmaker (“Call Me By Your Name,” “A Bigger Splash”) has made one of the most sensual, titillating, and downright erotic movies in recent memory — all without featuring a single sex scene.

When Zendaya first read the script for director Luca Guadagnino’s romantic sports film “Challengers,” she immediately understood that the tennis player turned coach she would portray was unapologetic about her own power and how she wielded it.