What To Watch
Sports Documentaries That’ll Get Your Head in the Game
Watch these when you want to go for the (streaming) gold.
By Derek Lawrence and Erin Corbett
Feb. 3, 2026
Best Sports Documentaries on Netflix For When You Want to Be a Team Player - Netflix Tudum
When it comes to watching great sports documentaries, the season never ends.
As the documentary industry rapidly grows, perhaps no subgenre has benefited more than the world of athletics. And those stories — whether they’re told as films, limited series, or ongoing productions — aren’t exclusively about the most famous athletes. Audiences have proven to be just as fascinated with previously unknown underdogs.
No matter what teams you follow, your sports viewing doesn’t have to end when the season does. Whether you want to go deeper with your favorite franchise, meet the legendary athletes at the top of their game, or learn about a sport you don’t already follow, we’ve assembled the ultimate team of sports documentaries.
AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
From Emmy Award winner Greg Whiteley (Cheer), this docuseries looks at what it takes to make it in the squad as a Cowboys Cheerleader. “The women are impressive when you see them all in a kick line — they’re in a row, and they’re beautiful, athletic, and strong — they seem impenetrable,” Whiteley told Tudum. “I think that is made even more impressive when you realize that there’s a living, breathing human being underneath that facade.”
Beckham
This four-part docuseries from Academy Award–winning director Fisher Stevens gives fans never-before-seen insight into who David Beckham actually is, on and off the football pitch. It features interviews with his family, friends, and teammates and includes an up-close look at everything about him — even his shopping and cleaning habits. The result is an unprecedented portrait of an icon who, despite spending 30 years in the public eye, just might surprise you.
Carlos Alcaraz: My Way
This docuseries centers on Spanish tennis superstar Carlos Alcaraz, the youngest-ever No. 1 player in international men’s tennis. By following him during the 2024 season, the show offers a unique opportunity to get to know the prodigy as he balances the pressures of being a champion with his desire to live an ordinary life with friends and family. “People are going to get to know everything you don’t see on a tennis court,” Alcaraz told Tudum. “It’s something very different.”
The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox
Spend time in the dugout with the Boston Red Sox, one of the most iconic franchises in MLB history. Also from Whiteley, the eight-episode series follows the team through the 2024 season — their 81-81 season, complete with all the highs and lows as they happen in real time. The documentary zooms in on players opening up about the physical and mental demands of the sport. Want more Red Sox? Queue up The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox, a docuseries about one of the greatest sports comebacks ever.
Court of Gold
This six-part series goes behind the scenes at the 2024 Paris Olympics with some of the NBA’s biggest stars: Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry, who play for Team USA; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who plays for Canada; Serbia’s Nikola Jokić; and French star Victor Wembanyama. For more basketball at the Olympics, jump into The Redeem Team, which follows Team USA to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing with an all-star team: James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Kobe Bryant.
Formula 1: Drive to Survive
The world’s hottest sport was barely on the radar of most American sports audiences — and then Drive to Survive arrived. Since premiering in 2019, the docuseries has been credited for the staggering rise in popularity of the European racing association, Formula 1. It takes die-hard and casual fans inside every team — the storied Ferrari and Mercedes got on the bandwagon in Season 2 — and also showcases the owners, managers, and drivers.
Full Swing
This series delivers a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of pro golfers as they endure the challenges of the PGA Tour, including all four of golf’s major championships. Full Swing takes golf fans across the course and into the lives of the sport’s top players — including Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, and Justin Thomas — and documents how careers can be made or broken in a single swing.
Glitter & Gold: Ice Dancing
This series offers an intimate look at the high-stakes, high-drama world of ice dancing, one of the most artistically demanding events in the Olympic Games. It highlights a trio of teams with golden aspirations on the world’s biggest sports stage: Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the US, Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, and France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron. The series — from the team behind Simone Biles Rising — covers the athletes’ intense training, year-round international travel demands, and the sacrifices that these duos make to chase their dreams.
Last Chance U
This series explores the inner workings of the junior college football scene. Over five seasons, the show stops at East Mississippi Community College, Kansas’s Independence Community College, and California’s Laney College. At each location, viewers meet charismatic (and occasionally problematic) head coaches, passionate academic advisors, and promising athletes with the hopes of making it to the pros. The show’s spin-off, Last Chance U: Basketball, is also available to stream.
The Last Dance
This Emmy-winning docuseries follows Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls during their 1997–1998 season — Jordan’s last year on the team, when they’d win a sixth NBA title in eight years. It includes interviews with Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, and Barack Obama (the latter was credited solely as “former Chicago resident”). But The Last Dance belongs to Jordan. It’s told primarily through his lens, and Jordan doesn’t mince words.
Miracle: The Boys of '80
This documentary tells the story of the Miracle on Ice, when the 1980 US Hockey Team beat the USSR in the Olympic semifinals at the height of the Cold War to bring home a gold medal. Their iconic underdog tale is told with never-before-seen footage shot on 16-millimeter film, and firsthand reflections from the players as they return to the scene of their historic victory. The film is directed by Max Gershberg and Jacob Rogal — producers of sports documentaries Court of Gold and The Last Dance, respectively.
Naomi Osaka
Filmed from 2019 to 2021, this series follows the trailblazing tennis star after her memorable victory over Serena Williams at the 2018 US Open. It follows Osaka’s subsequent emergence as the sport’s next household name. But as fame comes, so does the weight of international attention and expectations. The three episodes show Osaka grappling with her mental health and figuring out how best to use her voice.
Open Heart
Directed by 30 for 30 veteran Jonathan Hock, Open Heart features former New York Ranger Henrik Lundqvist, one of the most distinguished goalies in NHL history, opening up like never before. The film looks at his illustrious career, which was suddenly interrupted by a debilitating heart condition and ensuing heart surgery. After living and breathing the sport he loved for his entire life, Lundqvist asks himself: “Without hockey, what am I?”
Quarterback
Honing in on the biggest quarterbacks in the game, this docuseries captures intimate moments with these players as well as their families, friends, and trainers. Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, Marcus Mariota, Joe Burrow, and Jared Goff are the focus of the show’s two seasons. Likewise, the series Receiver centers on the quarterbacks’ top counterparts, including Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Simone Biles Rising
This four-part docuseries follows the most decorated gymnast in history, from her withdrawal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to mental health concerns to her triumphant return at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The project doesn’t just focus on Biles’s physical training, but also her mental strength — a topic not often discussed among athletes. Biles speaks candidly about dealing with intense pressure, the high risk of injury, and the ticking clock of aging in gymnastics — a sport that greatly values youth.
SPRINT
This docuseries closely follows the world’s fastest athletes as they ready their bodies, minds, and spirits to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Created by the same team behind Formula 1: Drive to Survive, these episodes zoom in on American sprinters Gabby Thomas, Noah Lyles, Fred Kerley, Twanisha 'TeeTee' Terry, Kenny Bednarek, and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, as well as runners from the UK, Ivory Coast, Italy, Jamaica, and Kenya.
Under Pressure: The U.S. Women's World Cup Team
This limited series focuses on the U.S. women’s national team as they pursue their third consecutive title at the 2023 FIFA World Cup. The season has its fair share of obstacles, including the introduction of a new coach and more than a dozen untested international players. Together, the soccer team’s players struggle through arduous adversity and ambitious expectations, all with the hope of winning it all and claiming the sport’s elusive three-peat.
Untold: Jake Paul the Problem Child
Netflix’s Untold series of sports documentary films has chronicled some of the wildest stories from the last two decades, from the epic 2004 brawl between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers to the shocking turn in the story of Manti Te’o. This entry tracks Jake Paul’s unlikely transition from controversial internet personality to polarizing sports figure and rising boxing star. If you’re ready for another round with Paul after watching his live matches, this doc pulls no punches.
Wrestlers
Intimate and emotional, this docuseries about the world of professional wrestling reveals the hardship and sacrifice that goes into this complex feat of performance art and athleticism. The fight at the center of the story is even more intense than anything happening in the ring: Legendary wrestler Al Snow is attempting to keep professional wrestling league Ohio Valley Wrestling afloat — he must navigate the brutal waters of mounting debt and the power struggles of new ownership.
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