Patrick Zweig (Josh O'Connor) is one of the three main characters in Challengers (2024). He’s a professional tennis player struggling with money.
Patrick attended a tennis boarding school during his teenage years where he met Art Donaldson (Mike Faist). Art and Patrick were a successful tennis duo known as “Fire and Ice”. They are very close friends who have been through a lot together, and they seem to be attracted to each other, which is very evident in some scenes of the film. They met Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) at a party, and both are interested in her. They even engaged in what seems to be a threesome, only for Tashi to back out and lead them into a passionate kiss. After a bet, Patrick starts dating Tashi. They engage in a semi-long-distance relationship as Tashi attends college. After some drama, Tashi and Patrick break up, and Patrick and Art stop being friends.
Moving forward, Patrick Zweig is a professional tennis player who struggles with money and his family relationships. He enters a challenger (the second-highest tier of men’s tennis tournaments) for the prize money and even goes on dates to find places to sleep during the competition. There’s a scene where he swipes through Tinder, swiping right on women and a man, confirming that his settings are set to “looking for men and women”.
While the competition progresses, he talks a lot with Tashi on the side, even asking her to become his coach. In one of these secret talks, Tashi and Patrick end up sleeping together. During the challenger, he faces his former best friend Art Donaldson, and with some subtle hints, he lets Art know he slept with his wife.
The Tinder scene, along with his evident attraction to Art, confirms that Patrick is bi. He seems comfortable with his sexuality, and it doesn’t seem to affect his personality. However, he is not the best portrayal of bisexuality, as he is shown to be untrustworthy, uses sex for his benefit, and is involved in Tashi cheating on Art.