c/o Netflix

Professional tennis has reached a difficult reckoning. The sport is simply not great right now. When I say this, I mean that the state of professional tennis has not provided a narrative that the viewer, devoted or casual, has been able to latch onto. Netflix is attempting to change that in their new docuseries, “Break Point,” which premiered on January 13. Produced by the team who made “Formula 1: Drive to Survive”, the series that created a vibrant racing fanbase in the United States, it seemed clear that Netflix was hoping to achieve similar breakout success. What professional tennis has going for it that Formula One does not is its history. Tennis has produced some of the greatest sporting American heroes, like Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe, and the Williams sisters. It is a sport played recreationally across the country and the world; there is a certain familiarity. Where Formula One is not a sport that the average person could play on their own, “Break Point” could actually inspire people to play tennis, not just watch it. The potential upside is great! However, the gamble when making a series about professional tennis is the variability of investing in the success of a solitary, world-class, athlete playing week-in and week-out for 48 weeks out of the year. When greatness requires such consistency, it is inevitable that many players are ultimately unable to handle this pressure. Disappointingly (but unsurprisingly), if “Break Point” is successful at anything, it is at exposing this reality. Now, before I delve too deep into the problems with tennis today and how this show factors into them, it is important to contextualize the recent history of tennis as a spectator sport. 

We have exited the Golden Age of Professional Tennis. At the turn of the millennium, fans were spoiled with some of the greatest players that were all matched up against each other for the better part of the next two decades. On the men’s side, there was the Big Three: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. I could say that they were dominant, but even that adjective doesn’t encapsulate just how good these guys were. There have only been six Majors since 2004 (there are four every year) where at least one of them has not reached the final. That is not dominance; that is entirety. There are also three names on the women’s side that revolutionized the sport on the world stage: Serena, Venus, and Maria. Of course, the Williams sisters’ rise to legendary status is one of the most incredible stories in sports. Serena went on to amass a record 23 Major titles. Then there is Maria Sharapova, who became one of the most marketable athletes in the world after winning Wimbledon in 2004 at the age of seventeen. Sharapova’s unbelievable power and unmistakable grunt garnered her widespread media attention in a career amounting to five Major titles and the world #1 ranking. The Williams sisters, along with Sharapova, were consistently the highest-paid female athletes in the world and until 2022, were the top three all-time prize money earners. Now, with the exception of Novak Djokovic, all of these Golden Age players have either retired or have entered the twilight of their careers. Who is supposed to fill their shoes?

To their credit, the producers of “Break Point” had solid narratives in mind when casting the show. There were dynamics that were always going to be enticing regardless of the players’ performance on the tour. The series also delves into the personal lives of these players and exposes the isolated environment of the professional tennis circuit. The premiere episode, titled ‘The Maverick,’ follows Australian players Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis on their miraculous run to the 2022 Australian Open doubles title. Nick Kyrgios maintained a ‘bad boy’ reputation throughout his early career which, paired with his incredible talent, made him one of the most entertaining players to watch. What “Break Point” capitalizes on, however, is how a now-27-year-old Kyrgios (the average retirement age is 28) can reconcile a career that has not lived up to the world’s initial expectations. This is a classic narrative across all sports media, and Nick Kyrgios’ stardom beyond the sport definitely had its own pull. The second episode, ‘Take the Crown,’ takes a similarly personal angle as it follows the relationship between Ajla Tomljanović and Matteo Berrettini, both coming off career-best seasons in 2021. Both posted their best Major performances at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, where Tomljanović reached her first quarterfinal and Berrettini reached his first final. Now, with success comes expectation, and “Break Point” explores how the two of them juggle their relationship when their respective professional obligations become more serious. This episode stands out among the rest, as it follows a classic ‘will-they, won’t-they’ narrative through circumstances specific to tennis.

What “Break Point” portrays most successfully is ultimately its greatest pitfall. The series perfectly highlights how difficult it is to be a consistently successful professional tennis player. As it cuts deeper though, the question posed as the crux of the show about who will be the next all-time great is not answered. Professional tennis has had the time for a new generation to step up. When Serena Williams reached the #1 ranking for the sixth time in 2013, her reign would go on to become an all-time record-tying longest consecutive streak at 186 weeks. In the 186 weeks after Serena fell from the top spot, there were eight different World #1’s. Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu, who both won their maiden Major titles in their U.S. Open debuts, have not yet since made a quarterfinal at any other Major. Even players who showed any consistent form, like Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka, have expressed disinterest in the sport. A 25-year-old Barty, who had been atop the rankings for 116 weeks prior, retired in 2022. Meanwhile, Osaka has had very public emotional battles with fame, having taken periodic breaks from the sport since becoming #1. New World #1 Iga Świątek has shown some considerable dominance since usurping the top spot by default, but how she defends her ranking points from the 2022 season will be a point of tremendous pressure. The men’s side is different, as there have only been three #1 players outside of The Big Three since 2004. However, there were two players from the younger generation who were able to break through and win Majors after the Big Three: Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev. Since their wins at the 2020 and 2021 U.S. Opens respectively, their combined record at the Majors has resulted in one placement past the round of 16 between them. 

Now, if we take a look at the stars of Netflix’s “Break Point,” which was released in the leadup to the 2023 Australian Open, only two of the ten players featured made it past the second round. Three of them, including Nick Kyrgios and Ajla Tomljanović, withdrew from the 2023 Australian Open entirely due to injury. “Break Point” proved its point exactly in not achieving its narrative goal. Does that outcome affect the storytelling success of the series over the course of five episodes? Not really – the series is entertaining. Will the series bring in the fandom and popularity for professional tennis in the way that “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” did? No, but the subsequent lack of the success of the players featured upon the show’s release is to blame. Now, the second half of the season is coming out in the summer, documenting the 2022 season from Wimbledon until the year’s end. Whether the sport will be able to muster up a consistently dominant force remains to be seen. Until then, I will pretend to be excited when another teenager comes out of the woodwork to win their first Major title only to fade back into oblivion.

Mac Katkavich can be reached at mkatkavich@wesleyan.edu.