After getting Formula 1 and golf, Netflix has set its sights on tennis. The streaming service has reached deals with the four Grand Slam tournaments as well as the ATP Tour, WTA Tour, and ATP Media beginning with the 2022 season at the Australian Open.
The unnamed series is from the team behind Netflix’s popular “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” as well as the just-announced golf docuseries.
“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 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.”
The series is produced by Box to Box Films with James Gay Rees and Paul Martin as serving as executive producers. Filming is underway now at the Australian Open.
The Australian Open has been in the news for whether top-ranked player Novak Djokovic will be allowed to compete. The Serbian Djokovic has had his visa revoked twice by Australian authorities over his vaccination status — the country has a very strict policy requiring visitors to be vaccinated, but Djokovic’s team argued he got a special exemption to compete.
Earlier this week, Netflix announced another series from the “Drive to Survive” team focused on the PGA Tour. As with this tennis series, Netflix scored access to all four of golf’s major tournaments.
And here is the current list, in alphabetical order, of golfers that have committed to the series: 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 and Bubba Watson. Additionally, the world’s No. 1-ranked amateur golfer, Keita Nakajima, will participate in the docuseries, which will chronicle his first cracks at major tournaments. Filming is underway now and will continue throughout 2022.