Watch: First teaser of Netflix's tennis docuseries, official release date also confirmed
The title for Netflix's upcoming docuseries on tennis has finally been announced to the public—Break point. The series, which follows the 2022 season of stars such as Nick Kyrgios, Taylor Fritz and Aryna Sabalenka, among others, is confirmed to premiere on January 13, with five episodes set to be released before the Australian Open.
These episodes will focus on the Melbourne Major, the Indian Wells Open, the Madrid Open, and the French Open. Meanwhile, five more episodes, focusing on Wimbledon, Eastbourne, the Queen's Club Championship, the US Open, and the WTA/ATP Finals will be released in June.
A 30-second trailer for the show was also released by Netflix, which showed snippets of stars like Rafael Nadal, Ons Jabeur, Matteo Berrettini, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Serena Williams, and others.
While not seen in the teaser, WTA World No. 1 Iga Swiatek is also one of the players who was followed around by Netflix's camera crew and is confirmed to play a key role in the series. Among the other popular players to appear on the show are Paula Badosa, Ajla Tomljanovic, Frances Tiafoe, Casper Ruud, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
"Hard to imagine another sport so dominated by a handful of individuals for so long" - Executive Producer on Netflix's tennis docuseries
Speaking to The Associated Press on the occasion of the teaser's release, Netflix's Executive Producer James Gay-Rees remarked that the sport was undergoing a "change of guard" at the moment.
Gay-Rees was of the opinion that tennis was one of the last sports in the world to have been dominated by a "handful of individuals" for so long, adding that he was happy to see the young guns finally rise up to take over the mantle.
“It’s hard to imagine another sport which has been so dominated by a handful of individuals for so long. But they are at the end of the cycle — barring, obviously, Novak and Rafa, to some extent. The changing of the guard is happening. I love tennis, but I’m like, 'Who is Tsitsipas?' Do you know what I mean? In all honesty. But actually, you realize, 'My God, he’s No. 5 in the world. He’s a really, seriously, good tennis player and he’s a really interesting guy. And I’d like to know more about him.'
"All I’ve heard for the last 15-20 years is, ‘Roger, Roger, Roger. Serena, Serena, Serena.’ For a reason, right? Obviously we’re not disputing that, because they’re legends and icons. But I think it was really exciting shining a light on a new generation,” Gay-Rees said.