Fans blame the ‘Netflix curse’ after stars of ‘Break Point’ tennis docuseries suffer early Australian Open exits

Young tennis players who were featured in “Break Point,” a new Netflix docuseries, have had a really difficult time at the 2023 Australian Open.

What is the Netflix curse?

The tennis celebrities who are the focus of a new Netflix docuseries have had difficulty at the Australian Open. Before the tournament’s second week, nine of the ten “Break Point” contestants had left the field. fans are referring to as The “Break Point Curse” or the “Netflix Curse”.

How has the curse affected the players?

Nick Kyrgios, Paula Badosa, and Ajla Tomljanovi—three players who were prominently featured in the first five episodes of the series—withdrew from the competition because of injury.

Only one of the show’s stars was eliminated in the first round of play, but his defeat received widespread attention due to his megawatt opponent. World No. 14 Matteo Berrettini lost a five-set match to 35-year-old Andy Murray.

In the second round, world No. 2 Ons Jabeur was defeated by Markéta Vondrouová, No. 3 Casper Ruud was defeated by Jenson Brooksby, No. 9 Taylor Fritz was defeated by Alexei Popyrin in a fifth-set tiebreaker, and Thanasi Kokkinakis was defeated by Murray.

Sakkari nearly joined the list of Netflix stars who lost early in the competition as Russian youngster Diana Shnaider stole the first set of their Tuesday encounter in the second round. The match was clearly tougher than she had anticipated, but the 27-year-old Greek player won the second set in a tiebreak before taking the third.

For Sakkari, the third round was no simpler. She fell to China’s Zhu Lin in a first-set tiebreak before winning easily in the second. But Sakkari, the sixth-ranked player in the world, faltered after a competitive third set and became the ninth casualty of the alleged streamer’s curse.

As of right now, Auger-Aliassime is the only “Break Point” competitor going into Week 2 of the Australian Open after defeating Argentine Francisco Cerundolo in four sets on Friday. 

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