Sheriffs, there’s a new Australian Open meme in town. And it’s called the Netflix Curse.
The Netflix Curse refers to the fact that ten tennis players that starred in Netflix’s sports docuseries Break Point didn’t do too crash hot in this year’s Australian Open. There have been numerous memes made at the expense of these athletes, joking that they would have done better if they hadn’t participated in the Netflix doco.
The following Break Point interviewees did the following things:
- Nick Kyrgios, Ajla Tomljanovic, and Paula Badosa all withdrew from the Australian Open before it began.
- Matteo Berrettini lost in the Australian Open’s first round.
- Taylor Fritz, Ons Jabeur, Casper Ruud, and Thanasi Kokkinakis all lost in the Australian Open’s second round.
- Maria Sakkari lost in the Australian Open’s third round.
- Felix Auger-Aliassime lost in the Australian Open’s fourth round.
The Best Netflix Curse Memes
Without any further adieu, here are our fave memes:
Um. Felix Auger-Aliassime is out.#NetflixCurse #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/iDigzwLKRU
— James Gray (@jamesgraysport) January 22, 2023
The Netflix Curse waits for no man and no woman.
The last player standing – Felix Auger-Aliassime – is OUT.
He never found his A game at this #AusOpen but Jiri Lehecka has been an absolute revelation.
— The Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) January 22, 2023
You know the #NetflixCurse is going to be a thing now!! Luckily not signed up to appear on the show ahead of my Sussex league Men’s team match tomorrow!! 🎾🎾🎾 pic.twitter.com/s9ol0xPZtW
— Richie 🇬🇧🎾 (@Richie_JA247) January 20, 2023
Related: The Full Australian Open Prize Money Spread
Related: Why Did the Andy Murray Match Last So Long?
Athlete Reactions to the Netflix Curse
Before jumping into the Australian Open’s fourth round, Auger-Aliassime dismissed the Netflix Curse.
“I thought it was funny,” said Auger-Aliassime. “I don’t know, I don’t think it’s connected.”
“Maybe the players that lost, maybe they do feel like it’s connected, somehow. I don’t think they do. I don’t think it’s connected, anyhow. It’s funny how things work out sometimes.”
Meanwhile, Tomljanovic, who was in Breaking Point and withdrew before the Australian Open began, tweeted, “Can we stop with the Netflix curse lol… It’s just sports.”
Is the Netflix Curse an Actual Curse?
For the Netflix Curse to be a legit curse, it can’t be a once-off occurrence. The producers of Break Point also produced the Nexflix doco Formula 1: Drive to Survive. If the Netflix Curse is to have sway over sports, it needs to have ruined the athletics in Drive to Survive.
Which it didn’t. The Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton was interviewed extensively in the first three series of Drive to Survive. He also won the driver’s championship those same three years.
So, even if you’re a stan of the Netflix Curse jokes, don’t take it too seriously. After all, to tragically butcher the end of Tomljanovic’s quote, “They’re just memes.”
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.