The Wolf In Winter' To Debut On Prime Video Aug. 20

It’s a big summer for professional tennis, with Wimbledon starting Monday and the French Open recently concluded. It’s also a big summer for tennis documentaries.

Prime Video announced today it will premiere Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter on August 20, a film about the 24-time Grand Slam champion considered by many to be the GOAT of the men’s game. Jason Hehir, who won an Emmy for the acclaimed documentary series The Last Dance, directed the Djokovic doc. The film is a production of Connor Schell’s Words + Pictures and Sadoux Productions.

“Tennis has given me so much, but the greatest battles were never only on the court,” Djokovic said in a statement. “This documentary is about the moments people didn’t see—the doubts, the sacrifices, and the work of constantly evolving beyond the story so many think they know. I’m proud to share this side of my life with my family, my team, my friends, and the fans who have supported me throughout. Amazon and Jason understood that this was never only a story about tennis, but about the people, values, and moments behind it. The journey has been incredible—but the journey is far from over.”

The Novak documentary joins a robust set of new tennis-themed documentaries: at the end of May, Netflix debuted its Rafa documentary series on Rafael Nadal, the King of Clay who is second to Djokovic on the men’s all-time Grand Slam win list with 22. Earlier this month, Tribeca Festival hosted the world premiere of Chris & Martina: The Final Set, a documentary about the on-court rivalry and off-court friendship of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. The two champs bonded in part over mutual cancer diagnoses. (In an X/Twitter post today, Evert revealed her ovarian cancer has returned; she plans to undergo chemotherapy and will miss covering Wimbledon as she gets treatment).

DC/DOX just screened Give Me the Ball!, a documentary about Billie Jean King’s tennis career and immense cultural impact. That film, directed by Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff, premiered in January at Sundance. And Andre Agassi is the focus of an upcoming multipart documentary from director Chris Smith that’s expected to debut a bit later this year on Apple TV.

Agassi, Nadal, Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, and Jim Courier are among the tennis luminaries participating in the Djokovic documentary. Jason Hehir’s film is all-access, revealing Novak “behind-the-scenes… at major tournaments, his intense training regiment, and softer moments at home with family and friends.”

“Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter examines what makes this singular competitor tick—peeling back the layers of a man forged in extraordinary circumstances,” notes a release. “Born in war-torn Serbia, Djokovic grew up amid conflict and financial hardship as his family sacrificed everything to support his tennis career. When he burst onto the professional scene, he was met not with open arms, but with resistance—perceived as an unwelcome intruder disrupting the beloved Federer-Nadal rivalry that fans had elevated to mythic status. Where his predecessors carried themselves with measured grace, Djokovic was raw, passionate, and unfiltered—a player who wore every emotion on his sleeve and whose intensity sometimes put him at odds with the very crowds he performed in front of.”

“I’ve always been fascinated by what drives the greatest athletes, and specifically what motivates them once they’ve reached the pinnacle of their sport,” commented Hehir. “Novak gave us unfettered access to his tireless physical and mental preparation as he competes at the highest level of the sport battling men sometimes half his age. In the process, we got to know him as a father, a husband, a friend and a sometimes maddeningly stubborn polarizing cultural figure. He’s a fascinating person, and I’m excited for audiences to see this exploration of a GOAT at the crossroads in the twilight of a brilliant career.”

Presented by Prime Video Sports, Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter is a Words + Pictures production with Little Room Films, in association with Sweet Relief and Sadoux Productions. The film is directed by Jason Hehir and executive produced by Connor Schell, Libby Geist, Alexa Conway, Aaron Cohen, and Nick Eisenberg of Words + Pictures; Jason Hehir of Little Room Films; Sadoux Kim of Sadoux Productions; and Jeff Blackburn, Alexandra Dell, and William P. Zagger.

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