‘Netflix curse is real!’: Netizens react after tennis players to feature in show crash out of Australian Open

Australian Open 2023 has been full of surprises with most top seeds falling before even reaching the second week of the tournament. However, one rather bizarre connection has surprised the fans. 

Netflix released the first part of its highly anticipated docuseries ‘Break Point’ earlier this month. However, every athlete to have been involved in the series has been knocked out of the tournament, leading the fans to believe that the ‘Netflix curse’ is real. 

Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime’s fourth-round exit on Sunday meant that none of the players in the series had made it to the second week of the opening Grand Slam of the year. 

When quizzed if the ‘Netflix curse’ was real, Auger-Aliassime said, “I thought it was funny. Maybe the players that lost, maybe they do feel like it’s connected, somehow. I don’t think they do. I don’t think it’s connected, anyhow. It’s funny how things work out sometimes.”

The first five episodes of the series focus on the up-and-coming stars of the tennis world. The series attempts to create a narrative that these stars will be stepping out of the shadows of greats such as Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams. 

However, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Matteo Berrettini, Ons Jabeur, Thanasi Kokkinakis, and Maria Sakkari – the ones to have appeared on the show have already been eliminated.  

Meanwhile, divisive Australian star Nick Kyrgios withdrew before the tournament began due to an injury. Ajla Tomljanovic and Paula Badosa were the other casualties to have not even made it to the court. 

Netizens had an amusing time as one said, “The Netflix Curse has been the best bit of the Australian Open to keep tabs on.”

Meanwhile, another drew comparisons with the first season of Drive to Survive by stating, “Same as DTS season 1, very few of the stars want to participate so the show gives a very flawed perception of who is capable of winning slams.”

The series is an attempt by the streaming giant to replicate the success of “F1: Drive to Survive”. The Netflix docuseries took the world of F1 motorsports to households and the sport has seen a gigantic increase in popularity and audience. 

The makers of ‘Break Point’ used the same template where certain athletes are interviewed through the course of the episodes. The second part of the series drops in June. 

(With inputs from agencies)