Norway's Casper Ruud discusses the Netflix tennis series
'Break Point' during the Indian Wells Masters on Wednesday.
"I hope that next season we will get a little bit more
action on court and not maybe as much other things," said Ruud, whose run
to the 2022 French Open final was featured in one episode.
The Norwegian said he made a conscious decision not to
reveal too much of his personal life before the cameras.
But he said the show did capture the ups and downs players
face -- including a provoking moment at the French Open when grounds crew,
fearing rain, would not let him warm up before his semi-final.
"I was quite angry," he said. "They said that
it was supposed to rain, it wasn't raining when we arrived on court. That was
the sort of hiccup and the argument that was ongoing.
"I don't know if it was good or not but Netflix was
there catching it all. I was getting more and more frustrated because they just
refused us to play even though it wasn't raining.
"I'd almost forgot that happened because it was a big
week for me, a big tournament. I reached my first final at a Grand Slam, and
that little hiccup was not what I was thinking about, you know, when the show
was going to come out.
"But it was a little bit funny also seeing back on what
can happen sometimes for us. It's not always a smooth ride."
He would have liked to see more of the tension he felt
facing two Scandinavian opponents, including his comeback from two sets to one
down in the third round to a Finnish foe.
Greece's Sakkari, whose run to the 2022 Indian Wells WTA
final was covered in one episode, was forthcoming about the difficulties of the
mental side of the game and said she thought it was right to open up.
"I just felt like that if I do it, I want to do it the
right way," Sakkari said. "I don't want to hide anything. I don't
want to fake."
She did say the producers "have some kind of charisma
or a way to just make you feel, in a good way, like we are friends so you're
having a friendly chat.
"Then once you get to know them a little bit more, then
you open up and you feel comfortable just talking about your emotions and how
you feel on the tour.
"I just didn't feel like there was any reason for me to
hide and not be transparent and honest on how I felt last year because it was
very challenging.
"I'm very glad that a lot of people liked it actually,
and I've been getting very good feedback."
Higher profiles
Sakkari and Ruud both said being on the show, which has been
confirmed for another season, had raised their profiles.
Ruud recalled a woman at a grocery story in Florida, where
he was training last month, telling him she and her husband had watched him the
night before in the show.
"I haven't been, like, an overnight worldwide superstar
or anything, but I guess some more people in the world have seen the show.
"It's positive for us if more people know and are
interested in tennis."
Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime said he thought the impact
was more noticeable in the United States.
"Going to dinner or a grocery store, a lot more people
are recognizing me and other players," he said. "They say, 'I just
watched your episode and I loved it.'