I agree that they did treat art as lesser but tashi mentions in one scene how she doesn't come from wealth and that without her scholarship she couldn't afford Stanford. also I got the impression that art did come from a wealthy family just maybe not as exaggeratedly wealthy as Patrick's.
no because patrick and tashi saw each other as equals in a way they NEVER saw art. they both have wealthy family (though patrick is estranged from his) and are tennis prodigies. and most of all they are people who obfuscate and hide what they really think and want. art isn’t like them and they know it— he’s desperate and has to work hard at tennis and, though he tries sometimes to manipulate them, he is BAD at it. patrick and tashi fall apart because, fundamentally, they don’t like each other that much, even though they’re “on the level” with each other. NOT because art masterminded it. but here’s the thing: even though they both saw art as beneath them, they LIKE him better. art is the one they both want to be with. and in a way THEY are The Challengers, not patrick and art.
When Challengers does the tennis ball pov with the camera bouncing back and forth while you can just barely hear their grunts and moans over Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross's horny electro music score