But for Kathryn Kara Hall, the film rang trueand bittersweet.
She got a normal corporate job in Chicago, got married, and focused on balance.
I kind of pushed tennis away, and I was like, I’m not this tennis player anymore.
Kara Hall/MGM
It took up too much of my life when I was younger, she tells me.
They were looking for a tennis player who physically resembled Zendaya, and Hall fit the bill.
Glamour: Tell us about your tennis career.
Kara Hall:I grew up in a big sports family.
I have three younger sisters, and my dad played a lot of sports in college.
So when we were growing up, he got us all into sports.
As I got older I decided that I wanted to take tennis as far as I could.
It was like a full-time job.
It sounds like you could really relate to Tashi and her relationship to tennis.
[which Tashi memorably does in the film].
So it felt natural to embody that character again.
What did you do after tennis?
I finished my career at Michigan in 2018, and after that I moved on with my life.
I knew I wasnt good enough to go pro.
How did you get involved withChallengers?
It was out of the blue.
She sent them my Instagram and my contact, and they reached out.
Wait, they just hit you up out of nowhere?
Once I heard more about it…it became more real to me.
What was it like being on a movie set as someone new to the industry?
It was pretty surreal.
It was very cool for me to see the way movies are put together.
I was noticing that the actors were defining their different ways of staying in character and staying focused.
Can you walk us through exactly what you were doing on set?
I guess the stunt was tennis.
About six weeks in advance of shooting, we started playing tennis and working out.
I had to learn how to try and walk like her.
The goal was to use CGI to make us become one, to be Tashi playing.
Before all this you had a normal corporate job, which you kept during filming.
How did that work?
I told my boss, and they were really excited for me.
As a player, what did you think of the films portrayal of the tennis world?
And then going on to college.
It was really cool for me.
It was very realistic in a lot of ways of how tennis works.
Your world is tennis, so your social world is tennis too.
The social aspect of that was very realistic.
It was cool for me to see them reenact that in a movie.
I feel like beyond sports, thats really relatable.
If youre into a certain sport or hobby, it can become your whole life.
Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesnt.
There are players who can pursue that, but it also is a big risk, in a way.
Thats the tough part about sports too.
Did those scenes resonate with you as a former college athlete?
Yes, I think thats why I really channeled my drive into my career in finance and consulting.
Ive still had to learn balance because theres nothing really that will ever fill that void.
But Ive learned that its more finding your own balance.
As you get older, you have to figure out what that balance is.
What was it like working with Zendaya?
I can imagine meeting such an accomplished actor would be intimidating at first.
It was intimidating for me going into the situation, but she was so kind.
I was very shy, and shes shy too.
So we were just two shy girls getting to know each other.
But from the beginning she said this is a great match, and that gave me some confidence.
It was really fun full-circle once we were finished, and I told her thank you.
She told me thank you.
How was the premiere?
Did you get star-struck?
She was across the aisle from me, and I was too shy to go up and introduce myself.
I feel like we need to work your Zendaya connections to meet Venus!
Yeah, thats true.
It speaks to her character, too, of being kind and giving me credit.
Okay, final question: Are you Team Art, Team Patrick, or Team Tashi?
I empathize with her and her love for the game.
Usually the female character is always the good guy, or she listens and keeps peace.
I respect that shes doing things her way.
Stephanie McNeal is a senior editor atGlamourand the authorofSwipe Up for More!
Inside the Unfiltered Lives of Influencers.
