Lack of access, surprise surprise, helped doom Netflix tennis series
Fans want access and tennis has a tough time delivering
It’s a shame to see Netflix’s behind the scenes look at the pro tennis world, Break Point, collapse and not get picked up after two seasons. Netflix is behind Full Swing, golf's version (it was ranked the number nine TV show this week on the streaming service) and of course the granddaddy of these, the close up look at Formula One, Drive to Survive, races on.
I covered the tennis business for nearly two decades alongside other sports, so was not surprised to see one of the reasons cited for the failure of the tennis series is lack of access. Tennis is a cloistered, insular world that doesn’t like questions asked.
I stopped watching Break Point after the first two episodes, which in part honed in on the 2023 Australian Open. The only story from this event, or at least the runaway number one, was the deportation of Novak Djokovic. Instead the first episode featured doubles team Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis winning the doubles title. Nice story, but there are hard core tennis fans who don’t give a whit about doubles. Kyrgios is a combustible character and certainly worthy of some attention from the series, but come on, the event was rocked by the Djokovic news. An Australian pair winning the Open’s doubles event may be a big story there, but it's less than a ripple elsewhere. I am guessing Netflix couldn't get to the GOAT, Djokovic, or the important figures in the clash that riveted the sports world (Djokovic was deported because as he declined to take the Covid vaccine, he was deemed a bad example by the government).
And I can understand Netflix’s discouragement with the access issue. Go back to an earlier era, 1992 when John Feinstein wrote Hard Courts: Real Life on the Professional Tours. That book by happenstance opened with another controversial episode at the Australian Open, the default for behavior of John McEnroe. Feinstein largely had access to all the important characters in his wonderful book, which in print did a far better job of capturing the traveling glamor show of professional tennis than Break Point.
I don’t blame Netflix, if they are not given the access, there is only so many non star players they can show before they cut the cord. In the the golf version, where the soap opera of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is covered, the top players participated.
I have always said tennis’ greatest strength is its greatest weakness: its international reach. I often say tennis is the only truly global sport, a unified series of events touching every continent (save Antarctica) where they all count toward the same ranking. It's truly amazing the United Nations slew of competitors and tournaments, only under one basic roof. But under that one basic roof are competing parties: the WTA, the ATP, the ITF, the four Slams, the players, their agents. Many of the people who live and work in this ecosystem have different cultural approaches to access and media. The PGA Tour based in Florida is housed in a sports world where locker rooms are open to the media and players have their own podcasts and brands.
In tennis, there are the obligatory post match press conferences, often forced appearances that can look akin to proof of life videos.
Tennis players are independent contractors, so there is only so much the tennis governing bodies can do to make the players participate. It's not like the ATP Tour can go to Djokovic and tell him a camera is following him around. Tennis is a wonderful sport played frequently in spectacular locations by urbane, cosmopolitan athletes. It would have been great to capture more of that.
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With news that Robert Kennedy Jr. is considering Aaron Rodgers as his running mate (it's hard to believe this is not just some public relations stunt to keep Rodgers forever in the news cycle), I thought I would give my top 10 athletes turned politicians (including the courts).
Gerald Ford The 38th president was a star on the early 1930s University of Michigan football teams
Jack Kemp The former Buffalo Bills QB was a NY congressman and the 1996 GOP candidate for VP.
Bill Bradley The long time senator was a New York Knick
Arnold Schwarzenegger The bodybuilder turned movie star also won a stint as governor of California
Steve Garvey Well he’s on this list because of current events. The former LA Dodger matinee idol is the GOP candidate for senator in California. He almost surely will lose though
Alan Page The former Minnesota Viking is an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court
Jim Bunning the hall of fame pitcher served as a congressman and Senator from Kentucky from 1983 to 2011
Kevin Johnson The former NBA star was instrumental as mayor of Sacramento in keeping the Kings in town
Mo Udall played just one season for the Denver Nuggets but was representative from Utah for 30 years
Byron White The Supreme Court justice played in the NFL in the 1930s