Break Point's second series has the advantage of two wonderful young gun storylines of its own: the (spoiler alert!) grand slam triumphs of Carlos Alcaraz (Wimbledon) and Coco Gauff (US Open). How it deals with Alexander Zverev, a top player undergoing a domestic violence investigation, is a stark failure, however.
A tendency towards self-indulgence and a futile fixation on American players results in a serious case of second-season syndrome. Rather than pull out an ace, this sequel ripples the net while the crowd sighs in frustration.
If you’re a diehard tennis fan, Break Point has plenty of behind-the-scenes action to offer. If you’re a newbie to the sport, it’s the perfect introduction.
Break Point only gives us this inside look at a player’s strategic thought process a few times over its first five episodes. For the most part, it instead relies on close-ups of players striking the ball, as majestic as they are repetitive, while dramatic music gooses the stakes.
The big dramas happen inside the players’ heads, and Break Point is an only intermittently successful attempt to capture them on screen.
Highly polished documentary. ... There are sufficient moments in "Break Point" that for purely athletic reasons will leave an audience on the edge of its seat, even if it knows what the outcome of a match will be. ... There's enough player access and candid moments captured in "Break Point" to establish beyond a doubt the self-absorption of the world's best players. But also enough insight to win them sympathy.
The editing in Break Point is so accomplished, the links between a player revealing their state of mind and then manifesting that state on court so adroit, that you’ll be rooting for people whose names you couldn’t spell within 20 minutes of having met them.
Competitors are unguarded to an occasionally detrimental extreme, which makes Netflix’s Break Point seem immediately less revelatory than its predecessor. But the 10-episode series about the 2022 professional tennis season still has exceptional photography, a carefully curated selection of stars and enough on- and off-court drama to hook those with even casual curiosity.
Netflix’s pleasingly watchable sports serial. ... “Break Point” makes a strong case for having cameras there to capture what thoughts play out in those moments, and helped convert a onetime serious watcher who hasn’t had time for the sport since Sharapova’s heyday into someone who will be seated for this year’s grand slams. For the filmmakers behind this project, that’s game, set and match.
Break Point is not a serious examination of the state of tennis going into 2023, but it is a pulpy binge-watch that will introduce you to the next generation of tennis stars. To put it bluntly, Break Point gives pro tennis the Kardashian treatment.
Netflix giving tennis the 'Drive to Survive' treatment. Sure it's curious to look at the private life of the prominent young players right now, but it gets tabloid-like very fast. There's good editing work in here, but the narrative formula already feels generic and cheap. Very addictive view, though.
This is the kind of documentary that strong tennis fans might find it difficult to enjoy, because they'll tend to pick apart details, have preconceptions about the players that appear, or have myriad opinions about who should or should not have been featured. But as a documentary I think it was superbly edited, gives insight into the mental and physical struggles behind the scenes of professional tennis, and perhaps most importantly, has the potential to create new fans of the sport.
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