{ "id": "ep47b1k09h", "slug": "break-point-2023-tv-series", "title": "Break Point (2023 TV series)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual", "label": "Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.music_arts_biography_docuseries", "label": "Music, arts, and biographical docuseries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.music_arts_biography_docuseries" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.music_arts_biography_docuseries", "label": "United States · 2021 and later: Music, arts, and biographical docuseries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.music_arts_biography_docuseries", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021", "label": "United States · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual", "label": "Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.music_arts_biography_docuseries", "label": "Music, arts, and biographical docuseries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.music_arts_biography_docuseries" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Break Point is a Netflix tennis docuseries by Box to Box Films, premiered 13 January 2023, covering the 2022 season; two seasons, canceled 2024 over poor ratings and player access limits.", "snippet": "Break Point is a Netflix tennis docuseries by Box to Box Films, premiered 13 January 2023, covering the 2022 season; two seasons, canceled 2024 over poor ratings and player access limits.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.music_arts_biography_docuseries", "markdown": "# Break Point (2023 TV series)\n\n**Break Point** is a Netflix documentary series that follows professional tennis players through a season of the sport's biggest tournaments, combining on-court play with behind-the-scenes access to practice courts, medical rooms, and hotel rooms. Produced by Box To Box Films, the company behind the Formula 1 series *Drive to Survive*, it premiered on 13 January 2023 and ran for two seasons before Netflix stopped production in 2024.[1](https://www.atptour.com/en/news/netflix-break-point-learn-about-the-show) • [2](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/03/11/netflix-canceling-break-point-tennis-series/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Premiere | 13 January 2023, with the first five episodes of season 1 on Netflix[1](https://www.atptour.com/en/news/netflix-break-point-learn-about-the-show) |\n| Subject | The 2022 professional tennis season across the four Grand Slams and the ATP and WTA tours[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/break_point) |\n| Production | Box To Box Films, makers of *F1: Drive to Survive*; executive producers James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin, showrunner Kari Lia[1](https://www.atptour.com/en/news/netflix-break-point-learn-about-the-show) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/break_point) • [4](https://time.com/6246042/break-point-netflix/) |\n| Structure | Season 1: ten episodes in two parts (January and June 2023); season 2: six episodes in January 2024[4](https://time.com/6246042/break-point-netflix/) • [5](https://www.lta.org.uk/news/2024/january/break-point-everything-we-know-about-season-two-of-netflixs-tennis-docu-series/) |\n| Featured players | Nick Kyrgios, Taylor Fritz, Ajla Tomljanović, Ons Jabeur, Paula Badosa, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Casper Ruud, Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff[4](https://time.com/6246042/break-point-netflix/) • [6](https://www.netflix.com/title/81569920) • [2](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/03/11/netflix-canceling-break-point-tennis-series/) |\n| Reception | Season 1: 81% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (21 reviews), Metascore 68 on Metacritic, 7.3/10 on IMDb[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/break_point/s01) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/break-point-2023/season-1/) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17048442/ratings/) |\n| End of production | Netflix stopped production after two seasons, citing poor ratings and concerns over access to leading players[2](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/03/11/netflix-canceling-break-point-tennis-series/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Season 1 (2023)\n\nSeason 1 opens at the 2022 [Australian Open](https://www.edgepedia.org/australian-open) with [Nick Kyrgios](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-kyrgios), whose episode shows him questioning whether he will appear at the tournament again, and follows the season through the Grand Slams. Notable episodes include the third, in which [Taylor Fritz](https://www.edgepedia.org/taylor-fritz) plays through pain against medical advice to face Rafael Nadal in the Indian Wells final, and the fifth, built around the 2022 French Open, where Félix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round and Casper Ruud in the final both face Nadal, with cameras capturing Nadal's warmup routine beneath the stands.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/break-point-2023/season-1/) • [10](https://epub.stripes.com/docs/GSS_GSS_130123/GSS_GSS_130123.pdf) • [4](https://time.com/6246042/break-point-netflix/)\n\nCritics generally responded well. The season holds an 81% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics consensus calls it \"a fresh look at the next generation of tennis stars,\" and a Metascore of 68 on Metacritic, with reviews from the Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph, and Variety scoring it 80.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/break_point/s01) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/break-point-2023/season-1/) Recurring criticisms came from dedicated tennis fans and some reviewers: the Indian Express wrote that the series courts casual viewers \"to the point of alienating its core audience,\" and Stuart Fraser of The Times called it \"a sanitised public relations exercise.\"[11](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/break-point-review-netflix-tennis-documentary-series-nick-kyrgios-rafael-nadal-8387316/) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/break_point/s01)\n\n### Season 2 (2024) and cancellation\n\nAfter a successful debut, the series was renewed, and a six-part second season was released in January 2024.[5](https://www.lta.org.uk/news/2024/january/break-point-everything-we-know-about-season-two-of-netflixs-tennis-docu-series/) In March 2024, [The Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-times) reported that Netflix had stopped production after only two seasons, citing \"poor ratings and concerns over access to the sport's leading players.\" The report noted that the series lagged behind its Formula 1 and golf equivalents in viewing figures, that producers were frustrated by hurdles to access in tennis compared with Formula 1, including the repeated need for agent approval before filming or speaking to players, and that Netflix cameras were unlikely to return unless viewing figures for the second series improved.[2](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/03/11/netflix-canceling-break-point-tennis-series/)\n\nThe access problem shaped the content as well as the ratings. The series failed to capture some of the tour's biggest storylines, with [Novak Djokovic](https://www.edgepedia.org/novak-djokovic)'s 2022 Australian visa controversy among the most glaring absences, and viewers criticized an episode featuring [Alexander Zverev](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexander-zverev) for making no mention of the domestic violence allegations he was facing in Germany.[2](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/03/11/netflix-canceling-break-point-tennis-series/)\n\n## Format and approach\n\nEach episode of the first season revolves around one or two players and follows a stretch of the 2022 season. The first five episodes cover the period from the Australian Open through the [French Open](https://www.edgepedia.org/french-open); the second batch of five, covering Wimbledon and the US Open, was released in advance of Wimbledon 2023.[4](https://time.com/6246042/break-point-netflix/) The series deliberately centers on a younger, diverse set of would-be champions rather than the sport's established legends, on the theory that casual viewers may not know the outcomes of matches involving players such as Fritz, which keeps the drama intact.[4](https://time.com/6246042/break-point-netflix/)\n\nA recurring thread is the mental toll of professional tennis. Players including [Ajla Tomljanović](https://www.edgepedia.org/ajla-tomljanovic) and [Maria Sakkari](https://www.edgepedia.org/maria-sakkari) speak on camera about psychological strain; Sakkari describes retiring for four days after losing a match point in the [2021 French Open](https://www.edgepedia.org/2021-french-open) semifinals. Showrunner Kari Lia said the players themselves wanted the cameras to see how hard the sport was, which the producers had not expected.[10](https://epub.stripes.com/docs/GSS_GSS_130123/GSS_GSS_130123.pdf) • [4](https://time.com/6246042/break-point-netflix/)\n\n## Context in the sports-docuseries boom\n\n[Break Point](https://www.edgepedia.org/break-point) was part of a wave of behind-the-scenes sports series following the format popularized by *Drive to Survive*. Netflix announced it in January 2022 as tennis attempted to capitalize on the interest that series had generated, and comparable projects followed quickly: the golf series *Full Swing* and a LaLiga docuseries were both announced in early 2023 with Netflix and Box to Box Films involved.[2](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/03/11/netflix-canceling-break-point-tennis-series/) • [12](https://repositorio.comillas.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11531/68407/TFG%20-%20Mella%20Youssef%2C%20Natalia%20.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1) Tennis' governing bodies and [Grand Slam](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-slam-tennis) organizers signed on hoping the series would introduce a new generation of fans to the sport, the same effect *Drive to Survive* had on Formula 1.[4](https://time.com/6246042/break-point-netflix/) After the cancellation, The Times' assessment was that the missed annual series was still a significant blow for tennis's attempt to captivate a new audience.[2](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/03/11/netflix-canceling-break-point-tennis-series/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Break Point: Learn About Netflix's Tennis Series, ATP Tour](https://www.atptour.com/en/news/netflix-break-point-learn-about-the-show)\n2. [Poor ratings, access concerns led to ending of Netflix's 'Break Point', Sports Business Journal](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/03/11/netflix-canceling-break-point-tennis-series/)\n3. [Break Point, Rotten Tomatoes (series page)](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/break_point)\n4. [Behind the Scenes of Netflix's New Tennis Docuseries, TIME](https://time.com/6246042/break-point-netflix/)\n5. [Break Point: Everything we know about season two, LTA](https://www.lta.org.uk/news/2024/january/break-point-everything-we-know-about-season-two-of-netflixs-tennis-docu-series/)\n6. [Watch Break Point, Netflix Official Site](https://www.netflix.com/title/81569920)\n7. [Break Point: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/break_point/s01)\n8. [Break Point (2023) season 1 Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/break-point-2023/season-1/)\n9. [Break Point (TV Series 2023–2024) Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17048442/ratings/)\n10. [Netflix tennis docuseries 'Break Point', Stars and Stripes (13 January 2023)](https://epub.stripes.com/docs/GSS_GSS_130123/GSS_GSS_130123.pdf)\n11. [Break Point review, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/break-point-review-netflix-tennis-documentary-series-nick-kyrgios-rafael-nadal-8387316/)\n12. [Mella Youssef, Natalia, undergraduate thesis on sports docuseries, Universidad Comillas](https://repositorio.comillas.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11531/68407/TFG%20-%20Mella%20Youssef%2C%20Natalia%20.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series › Music, arts, and biographical docuseries*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/break-point-2023-tv-series", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/break-point-2023-tv-series.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Break Point (2023 TV series)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/break-point-2023-tv-series. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Break Point (2023 TV series)](https://www.edgepedia.org/break-point-2023-tv-series)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/break-point-2023-tv-series](https://www.edgepedia.org/break-point-2023-tv-series). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Break Point (2023 TV series)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/break-point-2023-tv-series. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Break Point is a Netflix tennis docuseries by Box to Box Films, premiered 13 January 2023, covering the 2022 season; two seasons, canceled 2024 over poor ratings and player access limits." }