Netflix’s “Break Point” Reveals The Personal Lives and Obstacles of Professional Tennis Players On Their Journey to Greatness
This multi-episode documentary series showcases a handful of tennis players as they navigate various tournaments and physical and mental challenges as they all dream of becoming number one.
Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios being interviewed in ‘Break Point’ / Netflix
For many athletes, becoming number one in the world is the ultimate goal. In the tennis world, thousands of young athletes train and compete for hours on end to reach the most prestigious tournaments in hopes of making it big. Netflix’s series “Break Point” tells the stories of numerous professional tennis players form their perspective. Often times, audiences only see an athletes performance, but not their personal lives or internal struggles they have to face to reach greatness.
This series explores the careers of top tennis players like Nick Kyrgios, Taylor Fritz, and Ons Jabeur, among others. Each episode focuses on a distinct tournaments famous in the tennis and sports world, ranging from Indian Wells, the Australian Open, and the US Open. While each athlete is incredibly gifted and talented in tennis, they each face their own set of personal obstacles that sometimes make it difficult for them to perform at the highest level. From the pressure of the media and viewers, to hate towards certain players for their personality. In one episode, Nick Kyrgios discusses the affect of the level of hate he receives on and off the court for his passion playing and occasional attitude on the court.
While it’s understandable that people would be upset at Kyrgios for swearing or being rude during his matches, the film delves into his motives behind his actions which helps audiences understand why he sometimes acts out. In another episode, Ajla Tomlijanovic faces off Serena Williams and faces extreme pressure and nerves to perform well against the greatest player of all time. Even though she ends up winning the match and making history, she continues to feel performance anxiety.
I think the most notable aspect of this series is the diverse range of angles it presents on the topic of careers of tennis athletes. Unlike many highly-watched sports, tennis is a mental game. The tennis players make it clear that if your mental state is even just slightly off, the chances of you playing poorly are much higher. Especially since tennis is often a solo sport, the result of the match comes down to your personal performance without the ability to rely on other players or teammates. This level of stress is evident among all the players in the documentary series, showing even the toughest athletes struggle behind closed doors.
The current top-ranked American men’s tennis player Taylor Fritz commented how it’s hard to be happy in tennis because everyone loses each week except for one person. It’s clear how the pressure to win every match is immense and the disappointment of losing is even a worse pill to swallow.
The cool part about this series is how there aren’t many mainstream films or documentaries about tennis and this one is a fresh and modern depiction of many players at once. The current era of the tennis world is facing changes as household names start the end of their careers. The Williams sisters, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic are all reaching the age to retire which leaves many open spots for new and younger players to emerge as the new stars. For audiences who aren’t very familiar with tennis players, this series is a great introduction to many names that will likely continue to become more known as their careers progress.
Interestingly, the film focuses more on the personal lives and challenges of the players rather than actual footage of their matches. The filmmakers manage to capture the intensity of each match they chose to highlight, but they aren’t the focal point of the episodes. Instead, there is much more coverage on how the players feel and prepare both before and after matches. More often then not, when a player loses a match, they feel so much frustration they even consider quitting. After Ajla Tomljanovic lost a match ending her chances of winning Wimbledon, she felt so devastated she didn’t want to continue playing again. However, just like other players, Tomljanovic didn’t give in and continued her career. It’s clear that losing takes a mental toll on the players, but the toughest ones always stick it out and persevere despite the losses and setbacks.
Another important idea the film points out is that a single match loss can change anything for a player. While it may not seem like a big deal to some audience members, the stakes are so high in the tennis world that it’s understandable that players feel the importance of constantly winning. A large portion of players’ salaries come from sponsorships which are in good standing if the player is consistently winning. Therefore, if a player starts to perform worse in matches, they risk losing those sponsorships and losing money. This is important for one player in particular, tunisian player Ons Jabeur.
While tennis may be popular and receive a lot of funding in certain countries, some players aren’t so lucky. Jabeur became a sensation for Tunisia as the most famous professional tennis player to originate from there and she’s gained renowned love and respect from Tunisians. Unfortunately, she’s struggled to receive substantial financial support from her home country as there isn’t a lot of investment in the tennis world. This makes it even more crucial for her to win matches to ensure her salary and sponsorships are continued since she doesn’t have the security of falling back on her home country to support her income. This struggle is evident as Jabeur trains intensely for her matches and maintains a competitive demeanor as she progresses through the tournament. Sadly, she lost in the Wimbledon final and lost again this year. It’s hard to watch a player who has worked incredibly hard to reach her goals fall short at the last second.
Nonetheless, while this series showcases plenty of the difficult aspects of being a professional tennis player, it manages to weave in motivation anyone can take from. Despite Jabeur’s losses and career disappointments, she continues to compete professionally to this day and hasn’t ended her career despite the losses. This level of discipline, motivation, and perseverance all the athletes show in each episode is truly inspiring to watch; even if you don’t identify as a professional athlete. When I first started watching the series, I presumed it was more about the competitiveness of the matches and the luxurious life of tennis players. However, I quickly realized how the tone of the series was more focused on mental health in athletes, and the effects performance pressure had on them.
The series took a peek behind the curtain into the mental battles these athletes face, showing a more vulnerable side to them and humanizing their personalities. I found it incredibly interesting how the filmmakers chose to take this approach with the series and thought it would resonate a lot more with audiences rather than my assumed take. Mental health in athletes is a commonly underappreciated topic despite the statistics showing the effects performance anxiety and sports can have on the brain. This series expertly makes an entertaining show while simultaneously tackling an important topic. Even though most audiences don’t share the same lifestyles and career as the athletes, it’s likely many can relate to the struggles of loss, pain, and disappointment each athletes spotlighted experienced. The impact of showing how even our greatest sport idols face immense setbacks and mental battles is so important for audiences to see because it helps to dismantle certain stereotypes or misconceptions about athletes.
There aren’t many films or documentaries out there that discuss athlete mental health so to have one that not only does that, but focuses on a sport that is also not commonly addressed in this sphere of conversation is something truly noteworthy. I found it enlightening to hear each story of the players, and recognize how each of their journeys to professional tennis was distinct, yet they all face similar challenges today. Some grew up very privileged and able to afford tennis lessons while another learned by playing on the private courts at a country club where his dad was a janitor.
Each player overcame enormous obstacles to reach the top, but to hear them each detail their journeys was incredibly inspiring. The mini interviews of the players in each episode made me realize how the setbacks they faced on their way to being professional are what shaped them into who they are and is the reason they can persevere through even harder obstacles. Their experience with failure is what helps them face current failures which is something that everyone can apply to their own life. They each bravely faced the losses in their career and always decided to keep working and give it another shot. I found this revelation to be extremely note worthy as it is something all audiences can learn from regardless of their personal hardships.
I believe athletes help teach us many lessons, mostly due to the fact that they commonly face a lot of setbacks. Like in any sport, all athletes will lose at one time or another, but it is the decision to get back up that truly defines the greatest ones. Almost any athlete you can think of and all the ones presented in the series demonstrate the arduous ability to keep going especially when things get hard. In my own life, it can easy to throw in the towel when situations get tricky or we feel we reach a dead end.
However, the athletes in “Break Point” teach audiences that in those moments it is the most important to not give up. The messages, inspiration, and motivation reflected in this series was very impactful on me, and is likely to have the same effect on others. Although I play tennis and can relate to some of the frustrations the athletes face, anyone can relate and absorb the messages in the film. Contrary to most documentaries, I loved how positive and uplifting this one was and how it serves as a motivator to anyone facing hard times.
There are many life lessons one can take away from this series and it was thoroughly enjoyable to watch. I believe documentary series like this one are vital in amplifying positive messages while maintaining a very entertaining storyline. The combination of intense matches, personal interviews, and even relationship drama between players, made the series not only informative but very entertaining. I highly recommend this series to any sport lover or anyone looking for a motivational and uplifting series that contains numerous lessons that can apply to everyone.