Stefanos Tsitsipas believes viewers of Netflix's 'Break Point' will get a "much deeper understanding" of the tennis world, while Casper Ruud hopes the show can have a similar impact as 'Drive to Survive' had on Formula One.
Excitement is building ahead of the January 13 release of the new all-access series after the teaser was released on Wednesday. The show follows some of the best players in the world throughout the 2022 season, providing fans insight into their lives on and off the court.
'Break Point' is being produced by the same team behind the award-winning 'Drive to Survive', which has been credited with increasing global interest in F1.
Three of the main subjects in 'Break Point' – Tsitsipas, Ruud, and Ons Jabuer – are competing at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi this week, and all three are excited ahead of the release.
"Fans are going to get a much deeper understanding of our sport and our lifestyles, something that is not easy to present," Greek world No 4 Tsitsipas, 24, said.
"You need a lot of footage and coverage, and you need to develop a level of intimacy with the players to allow them to let you into the journeys and experiences they have.
"I feel fortunate to be one of the subjects for something like this. I’m not sure how much will be shown because I really don’t know, but if it focuses more on other players’ lives I’ll still be happy and interested to watch because it will show people how difficult it is to be a tennis player. All people see is the glamour and success but there is way more than that behind the scenes."
For Ruud, 'Break Point' will document the breakthrough season of his career when the Norwegian reached two Grand Slam finals, at Roland Garros and the US Open, and reached a career-high No 2 in the rankings.
"I’m excited to watch it," Ruud, 23, said. "I didn't bring [the camera crew] along to all my private stuff, to hotel rooms and things like that, I’ve tried to keep it professional, I wasn’t too comfortable bringing them all the places. Some players have, some haven’t so we’ll see a bit of a mix of everything.
"In my case, they will follow me closely at Roland Garros which will hopefully make for good TV. Of course, I was there and experienced a lot of it, but there might be some angles and sides of the story I’m not aware of, so I’m looking forward to seeing it.
"It had a great impact on Formula One, on the popularity of the sport around the world, so hopefully it can give tennis a bit of a boost as well."
Jabeur, 28, said she had a great experience during filming and hopes the series can shed a new light on the tennis world.
"It was really great. I’m not used to having cameras around all the time but the crew was very professional, something we were comfortable with," the Tunisian said. "I think it’s going to be great to show how we are outside the court which is very important.
"I know a lot of people are curious to know what is going on – I’m also curious – about what people are doing away from their sports, whether it’s footballers, tennis players, or other athletes."
Other players involved include fast-rising Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, Australian pair Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios – who combined to win the Australian Open doubles title – women's world No 1 Iga Swiatek, and Matteo Berrettini and Ajla Tomljanovic, who are in a relatioonship.
Borna Coric, the former world No 12 who missed the entire 2021 season with a shoulder injury, was not documented but said he would be interested to be involved if there is a second season.
"Of course, it’s a very cool thing for the players, for the sport, and hopefully for the fans, too," said Coric, who is also competing at MWTC this week. "I actually just saw the easer this morning and I'm very excited to watch it."
