Djokovic has started a court battle against ATP and WTA, wants better players' conditions
Novak Djokovic fought a court battle against the three major professional tennis associations – ATP, WTA and ITF. The case, which can completely change the world of tennis, is on behalf of PTPA – the Association of Professional Tennisists, which was founded by Djokovic and Vasek sleeping six years ago. Besides the two, the court is supported by Nick Kirios, Anastasia Rodiova, Nicole Missinar-Martinez, Saissy John, Sorana Kursta, John-Patrick Smith, Noah Rubin, Aldila Sutjadi, Varvara Grachova, Tennis Sandgren and Rilo Opelka.
Changes in tournament graphics, anti -doping rules, the system of scoring and arranging world rankings in men and women, financial frameworks and control over image rights will be sought.
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« Tennis is broken. Behind the glittering facade, the players are trapped by an unjust system that operates their talent, suppresses their revenue and threatens their health and safety, « PTPA CEO Ahmad Nasar was quoted in a specially distributed message to the media.
The claim is given an example with Indian Wales, whose owner Larry Ellison was eager to drastically increase the prize pool for ladies and men, but his proposal was blocked by ATP and WTA. It is also emphasized that athletes are forced to play in extreme heat or late at night, leading to incidents and risk to their health. The lawsuit also indicates dissatisfaction that the rankings are earned mainly from the ATP and WTA race, which forces professionals of both sexes to be subjected to an unbearable rhythm for their physics, including a 45 -week race cycle.
PTPA said that their organization was a victim of the attitude of ATP and WTA, who had implemented rules bearing penalties for members of the Professional Tennis Association. One of the restrictive rules is that players who have retired are not entitled to support in any form after the end of their careers, if it is somehow connected to PTPA.
Novak Djokovic has been calling for a more honest system in organizing tennis for several years, thinking that players deserve a much larger share of multimillion-revenue in tennis. « We need a system where the voice of the players will be heard and they will have the right to negotiate their rights similar to other sports, » the Serbian legend said in a recent interview.
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The lawsuit provokes comparisons with some fundamental legal battles in the sport, including the Bosman football case and the struggle of NBA professionals to have the right to become free agents. The lawsuit was filed simultaneously in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Member States of the European Union, with the case expected to be extremely long and to shake the world of tennis.
