After just two series, Netflix has officially stopped production of the tennis docu-series Break Point. Stuart Fraser of the New York Times has announced this is likely because of “Poor ratings and concerns over access to the sport’s leading players.”
The series Drive to Survive garnered a new-found interest for many in F1, and so when Break Point was announced in 2022, it was done to capitalise on this newfound interest. Unfortunately, the success of the F1 series didn’t transpire into the tennis documentary.
Despite the series featuring appearances from Nick Kyrgios and Coco Gauff, the overall feel was that it was an underwhelming watch. It was criticised for not featuring some of the more exciting stories from tennis, such as the controversy surrounding Novak Djokovic’s visa in 2022. Equally, an episode that featured Alexander Zverev paid no mention to the current domestic violence allegations he is facing in Germany.
Netflix also commented that the tennis world was not as receptive to the idea of a docu-series as the world of F1 was, as repeated permission to speak to players was needed, and tournaments were less keen on giving cameras access.
Tennis star Iga Swiatek, who appeared in the first series but not the second, has given her thoughts on the cancellation. She says, “I think [the series] was a great idea, but I think we have, you know, many different and complicated stories that it’s hard to, like, describe them in a couple of episodes, you know.”
She also discussed her reluctance to return for season two, saying, “I know I didn’t give, like, much access, as much as other players. I accepted that I may not have the final voice, but there were some stuff that were, like, misinterpreted. My appearance in this series kind of caused some hate towards me and my team. So I just wanted to, you know, live my life peacefully and do my job, so that’s why I didn’t get into the second season.”
Seasons one and two of Break Point are available to watch on Netflix.
