Similar to how ESPN’s The Last Dance sparked a renewed interest in the athletic legends of yesteryear, Netflix has effectively established a blueprint for the all-access sporting documentary format with Formula 1: Drive To Survive, spawning an upcoming series about the PGA Tour, and a separate series focused on the world of professional tennis.
Teaming up with all the four Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open, Roland-Garros / French Open, Wimbledon, US Open), as well as the ATP Tour, WTA Tour, and ATP Media, production kicked off back in January, capturing the start of the 2022 season at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena. Which means we can definitely expect to revisit the entire debacle surrounding world No.1 player Novak Djokovic, his vaccination status, and cancelled visa to be a core subject of the earlier episodes.
On the topic of Australia, according to The Sporting News, our very own Nick Kyrgios will reportedly be featured heavily in the forthcoming tennis docuseries after inking a “lucrative” deal with Netflix. And what a time they’ve picked to begin rolling cameras.
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Between his electrifying men’s doubles campaign alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open to his incredible run at Wimbledon, and all the off-court controversy in between, it should certainly make for compelling viewing.
“The Netflix crew even followed Kyrgios to his post-match party at exclusive London nightclub Wyld, where he drowned his sorrows with pals, girlfriend Costeen Hatzi and his sister Halimah,” reports The Daily Mail.
“Halimah, a singer who wowed judges on the Australian version of The Voice, revealed the presence of Netflix cameras via Instagram.”
Box To Box Films – the same geniuses behind Drive To Survive – has once again been tapped to craft the Netflix tennis documentary series, with the production company’s James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin signed on to serve as Executive Producers.
As an award-winning veteran of producing docos, James Gay-Rees has been involved with everything from Exit Through The Gift Shop, Senna, Ronaldo, Diego Maradona, to Amy and Oasis: Supersonic. Side note: if you ever have a quiet weekend arvo, each film is well worth your time.
Paul Martin, on the other hand, has collaborated with Gay-Rees on the likes of Diego Maradona, Ronaldo, and Make Us Dream (in addition to Drive To Survive).
“We are excited to continue bolstering our lineup of sports programming with this behind-the-scenes documentary series,” said Brandon Riegg, Netflix Vice President of Unscripted & 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.”
As previously mentioned, this isn’t the only Drive To Survive-style project on the old Netflix burner. In mid-2021, it was announced the streaming giant had struck an unprecedented deal with the PGA Tour for its own episodic documentary series, complete with “behind-the-scenes access” like never before, featuring the world’s best golfers as they embark upon the 2021-22 season, and – yes – involving Box To Box Films.
22 names committed to being in the star-studded cast were announced – in addition to the world’s #1 ranked amateur, Keita Nakajima. Here they are in alphabetical order:
- Abraham Ancer
- Daniel Berger
- Cameron Champ
- Joel Dahmen
- Tony Finau
- Matthew Fitzpatrick
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Rickie Fowler
- Sergio Garcia
- Harry Higgs
- Max Homa
- Viktor Hovland
- Dustin Johnson
- Brooks Koepka
- Collin Morikawa
- Kevin Na
- Mito Pereira
- Ian Poulter
- Xander Schauffele
- Jordan Spieth
- Justin Thomas
- Bubba Watson
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Granted, certain heavyweight names are obviously missing (as well as every Aussie pro), but that doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t be featured in the show. It simply means they’ve opted out of active participation.
“It’s not like golf has a union that negotiates on behalf of players,” revealed one unnamed source.
“So you go through the process of getting buy-in from each player and their team individually. That takes time.”
Sources also revealed cameras quietly began rolling back in early December of 2021, parallel to a small 20-player invitation in the Bahamas known as the Hero World Challenge, where Tiger Woods himself made his long-awaited return after a near-fatal car accident.
“More than a half-dozen pros sat for their first interviews that week,” explained Dylan Dethier of Golf.
“Others consulted their agents, spoke with show producers and considered and reconsidered their participation in a show that hopes to introduce professional golf to an entirely new audience.”
Given the heated debate surrounding the Saudi-backed rebel league – LIV Golf – regardless of the faces we’ll see on camera, it should make for juicy viewing.
Currently, an official release date for the untitled Netflix tennis documentary series has yet to be confirmed. Considering filming began at the 2022 Australian Open – and considering what we know about Drive To Survive‘s own release model – it’d be safe to assume we’ll be queuing up the first episode in the weeks preceding the 2023 season.
Keep an eye out here for the details as they come.
