Netflix Docuseries, called “Break Point” Season 1 filmed behind the scenes 10 tennis players [1] [2]. We will talk about 4 of them in this article.
1) Special K’s:
Let’s start with the duo called in the Netflix show “Special K’s” or “Cereal Killers”. They both have a last name starting with K!
Nick Kyrgios is an ESTP and Thanasi Kokkinakis [3] is an ISFJ.
From the theory of personality types, it’s a perfect combination of teamwork. Nick is aggressive and physically expressive, which is clearly the expression of Extroverted Sensing Se as a dominant function. On the other hand, Thanasi is an introvert who has physical resilience, but he’s not aggressive. He’s good at defensive moves and has great reactions to the opponent’s attacks. Both ESTP and ISFJ have a dominant Sensory function, so their brains are already wired for a good physical performance that can become excellent with training.
Moreover, they have the same decision-making functions. So, they understand each other normally and don’t have an issue of miscommunication: Introverted thinking Ti, as Nick’s Second function, and Thanasi’s third function, Extroverted Feeling Fe as Nick’s Third function, and Thanasi’s 2nd function. Plus, they are childhood friends, so they bond even on the 4th functions levels of Introverted Intuition of the ESTP and Ne extroverted Intuition of the ISFJ since they have a common pattern that started a long time ago.
2) Ajla Tomljanović
Moving on to Ajla. She’s a great example of how much the mindset, psychology, and emotions can force the brain to act negatively and contrary to the desired outcomes. Ajla is an ISTJ. Thanks to her dominant Introverted Sensing Si, she’s storing physical experiences over time and becoming better and better with more training. Her boyfriend during the Netflix show, another famous tennis player, considers both himself and her as shy. One of her mentors sees her as not aggressive and not mean enough. These traits are all the normal expressions of Introversion and mean that she should activate her extraverted functions a lot more when they are really needed.
She can never become an extrovert, but she can improve remarkably. Her second function is Extroverted thinking Te. This is an extroverted function that she should use a lot more in her tennis games, in her training, and her entire lifestyle if she wants to deliver more results to the world. In the Netflix show, she explicitly recognizes that her brain loses control of her logic, sometimes, especially under the pressure of a hard game. This can be simply explained through the cognitive functions model: She’s unable to use properly her extroverted thinking in a production mode and leans extensively on her 3rd function Introverted Feeling Fi.
Te and Fi are both on the same axis and can’t be used at the same time. They work only on alternate, one after one. The time difference can be extremely short but in situations of pressure like Ajla’s case, the Fi is used too much, and the Si-Fi loop is taking over. The 1st and 3rd cognitive functions loop is a known phenomenon to the “16 personality types” community and is considered an unhealthy state to be in. Even when the person hasn’t started experiencing yet the negative effects of the Loop, the overuse of the 3rd function is generally a psychological waste, then a general waste with all the practical consequences that derive from it.
Unless it’s used later as an “investment” and a conscious training for a later application, the 3rd function overuse is a degradation of the person’s performance and quality of life compared to the results obtained from fair use of the 2nd function and reasonable use of the 3rd function. Of course, unless a person is aware of her/his psychology, this previous explanation doesn’t have an echo, only for her/his educated mentor or coach. The latter, hopefully, will be able to transform this explanation into practical exercises and include it in the interaction style they have with the mentee or professional player in our case.
3) Matteo Berrettini
Matteo Berrettini is ranked 7th in the world in the show and reached 6th as the highest rank [4] but he retired in 2024 [5]. He’s an ISFJ. During the Netflix documentary, he’s the boyfriend of Ajla whom we just talked about. He has the physical resilience. He’s remarkably close to his parents and grandparents. He’s an introvert focused on his Tennis and his family. There’s a sentence that he repeated many times in diverse ways: when I feel the fear, I become more awake and more motivated to win. Contrary to his ISTJ girlfriend, his emotions are now a source of power. This is not due to gender, male vs female, but it’s again a personality type manifestation.
Let’s break down his cognitive functions model: 1st Si, 2nd Fe, 3rd Fi, and 4th Ne. His feeling function Fe is second and extroverted, which means he has the capacity to exude his emotions properly when he decides to. Using the 2nd function, also called the co-pilot, in a production mode is most of the time beneficial since it is usually not used enough in production mode contrary to the 3rd function which is overused.
So, when Matteo lets his fear out, it comes out as an additional energy outside the body. This keeps the 3rd function Ti from getting overwhelmed and can help the brain stay focused logically. Now let’s compare with Ajla’s cognitive functions model: 1st Si, 2nd Te, 3rd Fi, and 4th Ne.
She only differs from him in the 2nd and 3rd functions. In her case, she should be using her rationale 2nd function more either by focusing on something to manage like a technique or an area on the tennis court, or evaluating different external thoughts and choosing some of them to apply to her situation like her coach suggestions. In this case, her 3rd function Fi will not be overwhelmed and can focus on her motivation and ardent desire to win.
[1] “Watch a Trailer for Part Two of the Netflix Tennis Docuseries,” Town & Country. Accessed: Jan. 14, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/sporting/a42259430/break-point-netflix-tennis-docuseries-news/
[2] “Watch Break Point | Netflix Official Site.” Accessed: Jan. 14, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.netflix.com/ma-en/title/81569920
[3] “Get to Know the 10 Tennis Players Spotlighted in Netflix’s Break Point,” Town & Country. Accessed: Jan. 14, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/sporting/g42395546/break-point-netflix-tennis-players-guide/
[4] “Matteo Berrettini | Bio | ATP Tour | Tennis,” ATP Tour. Accessed: Jan. 15, 2024. [Online]. Available: http://www.atptour.com/en/players/matteo-berrettini/bk40/bio
[5] “Matteo Berrettini,” Wikipedia. Jan. 15, 2024. Accessed: Jan. 15, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Matteo_Berrettini&oldid=1195899305
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