The Novak Djokovic-led move to form Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), a breakaway players’ body outside the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), has set alarm bells ringing. The World No. 1 is the current head of the ATP Player Council, but is understood to have resigned along with Canadian Vasek Pospisil and American John Isner.
The PTPA said that it was not aiming to replace the ATP, with Pospisil announcing that it was “simply to unify the players and have an impact on decisions being made that affect our lives and livelihoods.”
But the ATP sees it as a clear threat. A letter co-signed by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Kevin Anderson — all members of the Player Council — stated that the new association cannot co-exist with the ATP and asked those enthusiastic about it to think about the repercussions if tournaments went against them.
The tremendous public goodwill that Federer and Nadal enjoy vis-a-vis Djokovic seems to have already skewed the debate against the latter, but it would be wrong to brush aside genuine player concerns.
Last year, Pospisil and Djokovic were at the forefront of pressuring the Grand Slams to increase the total prize money. The contention was that at less than 20% of the total revenue earned by a Major, the payout was far too low.
The nuanced position Andy Murray took on Saturday was reflective of this when he called on the Grand Slams to increase compensation, and said that he was not totally against a players’ union. The Brit didn’t join PTPA because he wanted the current ATP management to be given more time, and for women to be part of the conversation.
While Nadal publicly questioned the timing of Djokovic’s move — in the middle of a global pandemic — the health crisis appears to have accelerated it. When tennis ground to a halt in March, those in the lower rung reeled for months without income.
A player-led initiative came up with a relief fund, but the fact that it was left to a section of players to bail out the rest showed that the pay structure was flawed.
Bopanna’s opinion
India’s top doubles player Rohan Bopanna, while signing up for the new body, told The Hindu that the players’ voice went unheard, both in the past and during the lockdown. “The communication has been very poor,” he said. India’s top-ranked singles player Sumit Nagal is joining PTPA too.
Tennis has always prided itself on treating players as “independent contractors” who are solely in control of their destinies. But with points and ranking, the two things that define a player, being the preserve of the ATP, are they truly independent? The ATP also co-owns tournaments, making its position as a players' representative questionable.
It is this very structure that the PTPA, a players-only body, is challenging by giving itself collective bargaining power rather than being treated as “independent contractors.”
