Before Coco, Brad Gilbert took Zendaya to 'boot camp' for Challengers movie

Stewart Cook/Getty Images for Amazon MGM Studios

Coco Gauff is not the only superstar former No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings Brad Gilbert has put through tennis bootcamp recently.

Gilbert and his wife, Kim Gilbert, were key consultants on Challengers, the new tennis movie starring Zendaya that will be released in theatres on Friday. Their daughter, Julian, was working with producer Amy Pascal and thought her father would be able to help with the project, directed by Luca Guadagnino.

“They gave me the script, I read the script and told them, ‘Interesting’. The way it was written, there were no point constructions on any of the points. The point would end on a tweener, the point would end on an error, let's have a big winner here. It was all fill in the blanks,” Gilbert told ATPTour.com. “I told them that I could create shot sheets and do all the things to help them create these points, which led to me and Kim being hired as the consultants.”

The Gilberts played critical roles in the film, with Brad leading the charge in setting up and leading training for the key members of the cast, headlined by Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor. Brad was excited to attend the Los Angeles premiere of the film last week.

“I told Z the other night, I don't know, somehow she must have prepared me for Coco,” Gilbert said. “Art imitates life.”

A practice we would be front row for 💜@CocoGauff 🤝 @Zendaya pic.twitter.com/4NKoaKlYLO

— wta (@WTA) April 17, 2024

By January 2022, Brad and Kim were spending most of their time on Challengers. Brad spent seven weeks working with Zendaya in Malibu and arranged for Faist to train with a coach in Columbus, Ohio. The only one who was unable to hit the ground running tennis-wise was O’Connor, who was filming in Italy. Kim provided all the actors with plenty of tennis clips to watch to give them an idea of what they would be working towards.

“When you have a short period of time, it's like a player getting ready for the Aussie Open,” Gilbert said. “You've got weeks to get ready, and really put in the yards... They have this [time] to become the role that they are. You've got a short period of time, then you’ve got to maximise your time.”

Training is one thing, but real matches are another. That is why Gilbert took Zendaya to two college tennis matches towards the end of their initial block.

“She was really surprised. She didn't realise there were matches going on and people screaming and the intensity of it,” Gilbert recalled. “I think what really helped her a lot, we saw two Top 5 girls teams, Pepperdine and UCLA, crosstown rivals. It was a really intense atmosphere, so I think that was a really good experience for her to understand, ‘Ah, this college tennis is not a joke’.”

Everyone converged in Boston, where the Gilbert family lived in a hotel for four months to ensure the best possible training for the actors. “Training camp” took place at Weymouth Club.

“We would practise from seven to nine with three different courts. I had pros on each one of the courts trying to maximise our time with each player,” Gilbert said. “Right away they had to go to the gym from nine to 11.

“They all had great attitudes. At the courts where we were hitting indoors they had the gym so they could work out with the trainer. And then the afternoon from one to six or seven they had to do all their lines. That was six weeks."

Although Gilbert did not decide what each actor’s character would play like, he worked with them to craft their games accordingly.

“Mike, his character's game was very defined. It was kind of built after a classic Fed or Pete Sampras to have a one-handed backhand. And funny, Mike was the only one that played, he played in high school, but he hadn't played in 13 years. He had a two-handed backhand, so he had to learn the one-handed backhand,” Gilbert said. “Z's game we knew she was a killer, but you don't exactly know how a killer is gonna play. She's aggressive, but a killer.

“Josh's game was more supposed to be a challenger version of Kyrgios. We had to create the hitch on his serve. I knew who his character was a lot, the guy that is a great junior that's a bit of a screwup and he never makes it out of the Challengers.”

On the overall experience, Gilbert said: “I think more than anything [it was cool] that my daughter was there every day, Kim was there every day. The chemistry and the camaraderie of the three [actors] was the coolest thing.

“It's just another facet of tennis I had never seen because obviously I commentated, played, I coach, but I also acted as a so-called tennis player in a series Red Oaks. I'm the full tennis guy now.”