Novak Djokovic has stated that he disagrees with certain aspects of a lawsuit filed by the player association he co-founded against tennis governing bodies. The lawsuit was initiated by the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) and aims to challenge the existing tennis governance system.
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03-25, 2025The PTPA submitted documents on Tuesday criticizing the current scheduling, ranking system, and control over players' image rights. The association expressed dissatisfaction with the prize money allocation schemes designed by the ATP and WTA Tours, the "unsustainable" 11-month season, and "intrusive personal device searches." The PTPA claims collusion exists between tours and events, suppressing competition and potentially artificially limiting prize money amounts.
Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, co-founded the PTPA with Canadian player Vasek Pospisil in 2020. However, he is not among the 12 players listed as plaintiffs alongside the PTPA. "In general, I just felt like I don’t need to sign this letter because I wish that other players step up," Djokovic said at the Miami Open on Thursday. "I’ve been very active in tennis politics."
Djokovic added, "It’s a typical lawsuit, lawyers playing the game with lawyers. Frankly, there are things in the lawsuit that I agree with, things that I don’t agree with. I think some of the wording maybe is too strong, but I guess the legal team knows what they’re doing and what kind of terminology they should use in order to achieve the right effect."
Despite the actions taken by the association he founded, Djokovic insists he does not want to create division in tennis. He stated, "I’m never in favour of division in our sport, but I’ve always been in favour of players getting better representation, influence and power worldwide, and I think that’s still not at the level that I think it should be, and most of the players think it should be. It’s not only about prize money, it’s about many other things that are stated in the document."
Both the ATP and WTA Tours have defended their records, pointing to the prize money and guarantees they provide to players. World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz said on Wednesday that he does not support the legal action, partly because he was quoted in the lawsuit without his knowledge.
