“Break Point” humanizes professional tennis players

Nandini Patro DPS Editor

As a tennis player, the new Netflix series, “Break Point” provided a pleasant surprise, allowing me to personally connect with the story in the show. The show thoroughly covered the struggles of professional players’ lives as they venture through the grueling journey that is tennis.

While only a mere five episodes, “Break Point” creates a personal relationship with various up and coming tennis stars. The show introduces Taylor Fritz, a 25 year old American men’s professional, Ons Jabeur, the first Tunisian woman to win a Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) Pariba Open, Maria Sakkari, Greek women’s professional, and Nick Kygrios, Australian star and tennis “bad boy,” as well as more astounding players. An intimate relationship is created between the viewer and the player through reality TV interviews, close-up shots and real match footage.

The show covers two different grand slams, the Australian Open in Jan. of 2022 and French Open in May of 2022, as well as two BNP Paribas Open Tournaments, Indian Wells and Madrid.

The show does an excellent job of showcasing the difficulties of playing tennis. Tennis is a challenging sport for one main reason: it is the most independent professional sport. During a tennis match, the outcome is entirely dependent on the player themselves. A player gets no time with their coach