‘Break Point’ Netflix Review: A Juicy Binge-Watch that Turns Tennis into a Soap Opera

Over the years, Netflix has given the glossy docuseries treatment to Formula 1 racing, competitive college cheerleading, and now the streamer tackles its most high profile sport yet: professional tennis. The new series Break Point charts the 2022 Grand Slam season from behind-the-scenes. Through confessionals and candid footage, we learn what makes the next class of tennis greats tick and what makes them spontaneously combust.

For casual tennis fans like myself, Break Point is a deliciously pulpy look at the emotional drama simmering under the surface of every match. Hardcore tennis fans may disagree. By focusing on the glossy human stories behind 2022’s major tennis championships, Break Point ignores both the nerdy fundamentals of the game and the less-savory aspects of its subjects’ personas. Controversial player Nick Kyrgios is depicted as a misunderstood underdog, while the drama surrounding Novak Djokovic’s vehement anti-vax status is positioned as a lucky opportunity for the younger male athletes.

Break Point is not a serious examination of the state of tennis going into 2023, but it is a pulpy binge-watch that will introduce you to the next generation of tennis stars. To put it bluntly, Break Point gives pro tennis the Kardashian treatment.

Break Point comes from the same team that made Netflix’s F1: Drive to Survive, and like that series, embeds itself with top-ranked sports stars for the length of a harried season. As Break Point‘s talking heads repeatedly point out, 2022 marked the beginning of a major transition for professional tennis. Greats like Roger Federer and Serena Williams announced their retirements, the aforementioned Djokovic was kept out of several major tournaments because of his vaccination status, and Rafael Nadal began to finally feel the heat from a score of ambitious young players who had grown up idolizing him.

Break Point follows a new class of rising tennis stars, all hungry for the opportunity to finally vie for championship titles that had been hitherto held by living icons. Specifically, Break Point focuses on French-Canadian former wunderkind Felix Auger-Aliassime
, Spanish superstar Paula Badosa
, Italian stallion Matteo Berrettini
, all-American ace Taylor Fritz
, Tunisian trailblazer Ons Jabeur
, Aussie besties Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios
, Norwegian hunk Casper Ruud, Greek “goddess” Maria Sakkari
, and Aussie up-and-comer (and eventual Serena toppler) Ajla Tomljanovic
.

Netflix reports that Break Point will also feature in-depth interviews and footage of Aryna Sabalenka
, Sloane Stephens
, Iga Swiatek
, Frances Tiafoe
, and Stefanos Tsitsipas, but those players take a backseat in Part 1. (Some of these will become the main focus during later tournaments like the U.S. Open, which is due to be covered in this summer’s Part 2.)

Season 1, Part 1 of Break Point kicks off with the start of last year’s Grand Slam season, the 2022 Australian Open*, and follows a few key stories through the end of the French Open at Roland Garros. Each episode tightens its focus on one or two players and what specific hurdles they are attempting to overcome at a specific tournament.

*Break Point Part 1’s premiere is conveniently tied to this year’s Aussie Open. Once newbie tennis fans have fallen for their favorite Break Point personalities, they can follow their progress in this year’s tournament.

Break Point does more than deep dives into the psychology of what makes a winner and what makes a runner-up. Some of the most incredible parts of the show deal with the athletes’ personal lives. We meet many of the top male players’ “influencer” girlfriends, who seem totally content to live their lives supporting their men in exchange for the opportunity to take pretty pictures in luxurious environs. So much so, I wondered if TIGs, i.e. “Tennis Influencer Girlfriends,” were the new WAGs. Elsewhere, we see male tennis star Matteo Berrettini coldly tell then-girlfriend Ajla Tomljanovic
 to get her own hotel room because she was out of the Australian Open and he was still in and didn’t want her doing early morning interviews in the adjoining room. (Was I shocked to learn they later broke up? No.) Alternately, breakout star Ons Jabeur is seen taking both professional and emotional strength from the support of her husband/fitness coach. So it’s not all drama!

But the episode that will likely have tennis fans’ tongues wagging is the Break Point premiere. Nick Kyrgios is one of the most polarizing figures in modern day tennis and Break Point gives him a sympathetic edit that conveniently cuts out any mention of his pandemic era domestic assault scandal. Instead, he is a misunderstood prodigy who needs to have fun to succeed. He certainly cuts a dashing figure in the Break Point edit, but it will be interesting to see if — as the Part 2 teaser suggests — the show delves into the drama surrounding him at Wimbledon last year.

Break Point is far from a superlative doc about sports, but it is an addictive reality show about superhuman athletes struggling with the pressure of the court. Tennis is a unique game where it’s as much about mental strength as physical acumen. Break Point is more concerned with the former than the latter. Still, it’s hard to watch the show and not find yourself tempted to watch this year’s Grand Slams with new favorites.