,
Frances Tiafoe,
Ajla Tomljanovic, Paula Badosa, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Aryna Sabalenka and Maria Sakkari.
Not at the center of the streaming series:
Serena Williams and
Roger Federer, both 41 and done with their playing days, or Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, both in their mid-30s and winners of major titles this year.
“It’s hard to imagine another sport which has been
so dominated by a handful of individuals for so long. But they are at the end of the cycle — barring, obviously, Novak and Rafa, to some extent. The changing of the guard is happening,” executive producer James Gay-Rees said in a video interview with The Associated Press.
“And therefore, the timing was really good, too. Because I love tennis, but I’m like, ‘Who is Tsitsipas?’ Do you know what I mean? In all honesty,” he said. “But actually, you realize, ‘My God, he’s No. 5 in the world. He’s a really, seriously, good tennis player and he’s a really interesting guy. And I’d like to know more about him.’ Because all I’ve heard for the last 15-20 years is, ‘Roger, Roger, Roger. Serena, Serena, Serena.’ For a reason, right? Obviously we’re not disputing that, because they’re legends and icons. But I think it was really exciting shining a light on a new generation.”
Gay-Rees and fellow executive producer Paul Martin of Box to Box Films also made “Drive to Survive,” among other projects, and are working on series about the worlds of golf and surfing.
The fourth season of “Drive to Survive,” released in March, drew its largest audience so far and made the Netflix top-10 TV list in more than 50 countries. It is widely credited with
helping grow interest in Formula One racing.
“You obviously want to keep the core audience happy — the tennis enthusiasts — but if we’re doing our job correctly, then the show should appeal to people who’ve got no interest in tennis at all,” Gay-Rees said. “The pre-‘Drive to Survive’ Formula One demographic might have been described by some people as fairly male, pale and stale. And I think that the show, alongside some other factors, has contributed to the demographic shifting significantly younger for that sport, which is obviously manna from heaven if that’s what your objective was.”