"We want to get more fans excited about tennis" - Gaudenzi on new Netflix tennis show

Netflix has been following several tennis players around from the start of the year in order to create a documentary about professional tennis.

It should be the first one this kind and one that will allow fans to see the behind the scenes of life on Tour. A life that is often falsely glamourized as being one that will allow you to see the world. Tennis players have often spoken about the isolation such a lifestyle entails. Speaking about the show, ATP chief Andrea Gaudenzi said:

“We want to get more fans excited about tennis. We show many behind-the-scenes of the Tour, a different face of the players, who they are, what they do and what it means to be a year-round tennis pro. I’ve never been a big fan of Formula 1, but watching the Netflix documentary Drive to Survive gave me a different perspective. It created a spark in me that I need to watch the next race to understand the personalities."

He continued:

“We are in the entertainment business and we want to tell stories. Live matches cannot be the only product we offer. Today, 50 percent of media consumption is not live events. Especially through social media, viewers want to be part of other stories. Did you watch the Netflix documentary The Last Dance with Michael Jordan? This has made me want to watch more NBA basketball!”

Asked about when it will come out, Gaudenzi was coy:

“There isn’t a name yet or they haven’t told us about it yet. There is no exact timetable for the release yet. I’m guessing it will go live towards the end of the year or before the Australian Open 2023 to whet the appetite for the new season.”