Top Line Thoughts: Netflix’s Formula 1 show “Drive to Survive” has been a huge success and, although I haven’t seen it, I was excited to see tennis get the same treatment. I’m a big tennis fan and sports fan in general and, aside from the sports themselves, I’m a sucker for the stories. These shows provide a great opportunity to see the people behind the athletes. They all become more human and it definitely does make you look at them with a different understanding when they’re out on the court. I liked this show as a tennis fan and a fan of this type of show, but I don’t think it did anything revolutionary. Part of why the Formula 1 show was so popular was because it showed people inside a sport that wider audiences knew next to nothing about. While tennis isn’t the most popular sport in the world, it definitely has more of a following and general understanding than something like Formula 1.

If you like tennis or want to get more invested in it, I think this show is worth the watch. It follows a good mix of semi-established players and some up-and-coming stars. Since it was filmed a year ago, it is also interesting to see how the careers of the featured players have gone since then. Also, like I previously mentioned, it is great to get to see the personalities of the players because oftentimes that doesn’t come across on the court. I’m looking forward to watching the upcoming tennis season with this new crop of players to root for. Well, some of them at least.

2023 Count: 4 seasons, 9 movies