Netflix’s “Break Point” gets the mental game of tennis right

MELBOURNE, Australia – Leylah Fernandez earned her first major match win at the Australian Open, defeating Aliz Cornet 7-5, 6-2 in the first round. The win opens a second-round marquee match with WTA Finals champion and world No. 4 Caroline Garcia on Thursday.

After the victory, the 20-year-old Canadian was asked about the balance between the mental and physical aspects of professional tennis. The 2021 US Open finalist gave the upper hand to the brain game.

“For me, the answer is that mental to physical is 3:1,” Fernandez said.

“I’m very grateful that my parents, especially my father, reinforced that. Not really teaching me about tennis or tennis technique, but more about the mental side of the sport.

“Because it’s hard. You’re all alone on the court. Most of the time you don’t have a coach with you or a coach can’t talk to you during points. You have to figure some things out, you have to be your own cheerleader, your own biggest critic, your own biggest supporter.”

Fernandez said the new Netflix series “Break Point,” which digs into the mental strain of sports, was a compelling example of the mental drain of competitive sports.

“It’s not just in tennis, it’s in everything you do outside of the sport,” Fernandez said. “I know a couple of friends who are in school and they’re still trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives. It’s mentally hard, not just emotionally or physically, but mentally it kind of breaks you down because you’re not doing anything. I don’t know what’s going to happen .

Day two of the Australian Open

“So I think the Netflix series is a great introduction for fans to see how difficult sports are. I think some young athletes, young students can relate to us and see that they’re not alone, that we’re going through it too. And that if they see our succeeding or figuring something out in those moments, they don’t feel defeated. They get through it too.”