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Nick Kyrgios will kick off Netflix‘s new Drive To Survive-style documentary as the streaming giant unveiled its trailer for their behind-the-scenes tennis series, Break Point.
Buoyed by the success of their fly-on-the-wall program following drivers in Formula One, the same production team has followed 15 of tennis’ brightest stars through the ATP and WTA tours over the past season.
The first five episodes – focusing on Melbourne Park, Indian Wells, Madrid and Roland Garros – will be available from January 13. The season’s other five installments – which look at Wimbledon, Eastbourne, Queens Club, the U.S. Open, WTA Finals and ATP Finals – arrive in June.
Nick Kyrgios takes centre stage after Netflix released its trailer for its tennis docuseries
The 27-year-old Australian will feature alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis in the new series
On Wednesday, Netflix released its first look of the new series. The first episode will chart Kyrgios and close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis’ incredible run to the Australian Open doubles title.
The 50-second trailer shows Kyrgios smashing his racquet on court, before giving his girlfriend Costeen Hatzi a kiss away from the court.
Kyrgios’ bitter rival, Stefanos Tsitsipas, also features in the series alongside several big names like women’s world No 1 Iga Swiatek, men’s No 3 Casper Ruud and Felix Auger-Aliassime, alongside women’s No 2 Ons Jabeur.
The series will also feature interviews with tennis legends such as Martina Navratilova, Maria Sharapova and Chris Evert.
The fly-on-the-wall program will follow 15 of the world’s top players throughout 2022
Surprisingly, neither Rafael Nadal nor Novak Djokovic appear in the new program, with the streaming giant aiming to chart a ‘changing of the guard’ in tennis.
Meanwhile, world No 4 Paula Badosa is seen wiping away the tears during a distressing moment behind the scenes.
‘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,’ executive producer James Gay-Rees said.
‘And therefore, the timing was really good, too. Because I love tennis, but I’m like, “Who is Tsitsipas?” Do you know what I mean? In all honesty,’ he said.
‘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.” Because all I’ve heard for the last 15-20 years is, “Roger, Roger, Roger. Serena, Serena, Serena.’ For a reason, right?
World No 4 Paula Badosa was seen wiping away the tears during a distressing moment
‘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.’
The fourth season of ‘Drive to Survive,’ released in March, drew its largest audience so far and made the Netflix top-10 TV list in more than 50 countries. It is widely credited with helping grow interest in Formula One racing.
‘You obviously want to keep the core audience happy – the tennis enthusiasts – but if we’re doing our job correctly, then the show should appeal to people who’ve got no interest in tennis at all,’ Gay-Rees added.
‘The pre-`Drive to Survive’ Formula One demographic might have been described by some people as fairly male, pale and stale. And I think that the show, alongside some other factors, has contributed to the demographic shifting significantly younger for that sport, which is obviously manna from heaven if that’s what your objective was.’
However, tennis legends like Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal play no part in Break Point
Martin acknowledged that some might think of other sports-based series as what he called ‘Drive to Survive for XXX,’ but he said the characters and the way a tennis season is structured give ‘an entirely different feel’ to ‘Break Point.’
He believes it showcases ‘the physicality, the mental side, the rivalries, the pain’ seen in tennis.
Which are all connected to the name of the show and its double meaning. Even though it wasn’t made public until Wednesday, Martin said ‘Break Point’ was the working title from Day 1.
‘We always felt like we were going to find something better,’ he said. ‘The honest answer is we didn’t. And it just seemed to work.’
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