Why was Zendaya scared of her ‘Challengers’ character, Tashi Duncan?

They say you should never date a tennis player because, to them, “love” means nothing. Humorous hyperbole aside, that certainly seems to match the sentiment of Challengers, the upcoming Luca Guadagnino film and all-out star vehicle for Zendaya, who portrays the film’s dastardly lead Tashi Duncan.

In the film, Tashi is a high-flying tennis prodigy who suffers a devastating injury that prematurely sends her to the coaching stage of her career. As she coaches her husband, tennis champion Art Donaldson who’s been having a rough go of things on the court recently, the duo set their sights on on a qualifiers match against a player named Patrick, who also happens to be Tashi’s ex-boyfriend and the ex-best friend of Art. But, while Patrick has his sights unceremoniously set on a win, Tashi is committed to bringing out the ruthless competitor in both of them; the prize? Her attention.

It’s a staggeringly provocative turn from Zendaya, who recently revealed in an interview with Vogue that she herself felt “scared” of Tashi, noting how she’s used to playing characters that are prone to empathy from the audience, which isn’t likely to happen in the case of the treacherous Tashi.

“Typically, I play the person that ultimately is easier to empathize with. There was something about her that felt very, ‘Oh, damn.’ Even I was kind of scared of her.”

In any case, the stage is set for Zendaya’s range to reach new heights in a big way, and with Challengers due to hit theaters on April 26, we won’t have to wait much longer to witness it for ourselves.