Zendaya Says ‘Challengers’ Is ‘Incredibly Sexy’ Even Without Sex Scenes

Challengers isn’t very explicit — but that doesn’t mean the sexual energy isn’t palpable.

In fact, star Zendaya told reporters at the movie’s Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday, April 16, that the Luca Guadagnino-directed sports romance-dramedy “is incredibly sexy,” despite there “surprisingly” being “no sex scenes in the movie.”

“I’ve been asked a lot about sex scenes, like, ‘What was it like shooting the sex scenes?’ from people who have seen the movie, and I’m like, ‘What sex scenes?’ ” said the actress, 27. “And they’re like, ‘Oh my God, technically not really.’ ”

“We keep saying tennis is the sex in the movie, and I think tennis holds a metaphor for a lot of things: desires, passion, pain, anger, frustration,” Zendaya continued. “I think they all use tennis as this way of communicating with each other when they just don’t have the words.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

MGM’s R-rated Challengers tells the tale of Tashi, played by Zendaya, a former tennis champion turned coach who pushes her husband Art, a formerly mediocre athlete played by Mike Faist, to become a Grand Slam champion.

Following Art’s losing streak, Tashi spurs him on to compete for courtside supremacy in a match against his former best friend — and Tashi’s former boyfriend — Patrick, played by Josh O’Connor.

Following the trailer release back in 2023, Zendaya opened up about the film’s sexual tone, telling Empire of Guadagnino, 52, “What Luca’s really good at is finding sensuality and desire.”

“There’s so much in just glances,” the two-time Emmy winner continued. “The tension builds. Not having the release is a good thing sometimes.”

PEOPLE caught up with Zendaya at the London premiere of Challengers last week, where she opened up about the inspiration behind her on-screen debut as a mom in the movie.

“The mothers in my life and around me” are who she credited for helping her to play Tashi.

During her chat with PEOPLE, the Greatest Showman actress added that she has had a bit of practice throughout the years.

“I have many, many nieces and nephews, so they’re like my borrowed children, you know? I get to have fun and give them back to their parents,” Zendaya joked.

Shifting her tone to express her gratitude, she added, “But I’m definitely inspired by how they tackle and take on motherhood.”

Challengers is in theaters April 26.