Netflix serves up tennis documentary series
David Farnor | On 24, Jan 2022
Netflix is setting its sights on the tennis court for a new documentary series.
Live tennis has long been the territory of Amazon Prime Video, which holds the exclusive rights to stream live ATP Tour tennis. But Netflix isn’t a stranger to the world of the bat and ball, with a docuseries last year giving an insight into the pressures facing Noami Osaka.
Now, Netflix is going one ground stroke further with a series charting a a year in the life of some of the world’s best tennis players. From Box to Box Films, the producers of Formula 1: Drive to Survive, the series will involve the four Grand Slam tournaments, the ATP Tour, WTA Tour, and ATP Media – beginning with this year’s currently unfolding Australian Open.
The series will offer an unfiltered look at life inside the competitive sport of professional tennis through the perspective of the players and their teams, in the same spirit as Drive to Survive and Netflix’s recently announced documentary project featuring golf’s PGA Tour.
Taking viewers behind the scenes of the two tours, the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open, the series will be the first sports programme of its kind to provide an equal platform to the men’s and women’s competitors of the sport.
“We are excited to continue bolstering our lineup of sports programming with this behind-the-scenes documentary series,” says Brandon Riegg, Netflix Vice President of Unscripted and Documentary Series. “Tennis is beloved all over the world, with high-stakes tournaments hopping across continents and athletes hailing from countless countries. Through this historic partnership with the four Grand Slam tournaments, the ATP Tour, WTA Tour, and ATP Media, the series will be packed with rare access and rich personal stories that are sure to draw in longtime fans and new audiences alike.”
James Gay Rees and Paul Martin serve as Executive Producers. Filming on the series is currently underway.