Oh my God:Navoka Djokovic was badly involved in an after…
If the PTPA decides to bring a case, one sensitive area for both tours is their shared stance on exhibition events, such as the lucrative Six Kings Slam being played in Saudi Arabia in a fortnight’s time.Oh my God:Navoka Djokovic was badly involved in an after…
The ATP and WTA both use non-competition clauses which limit players’ ability to compete in these independent events away from the tour. But such restrictions could potentially be classed as restraint of trade if a legal challenge were to be launched.
The players’ association founded by Novak Djokovic is weighing up a programme of legal challenges that could reshape the world game.
The Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA) has hired “multiple global law firms” to carry out what its chief executive calls “a full, top-to-bottom physical of the entire structure of tennis”.
The PTPA’s central point is that the average tennis player remains overworked and underpaid by the standards of global sport. Although the ATP and WTA Tours have staved off the spectre of a LIV-style breakaway, mainly by granting official events to Saudi Arabia, it now seems as though revolution could come from within.
- Already this season, we have seen proposals for a streamlined “Premium Tour” peter out, while cases of player burn-out proliferate, and matches increasingly extend into the small hours of the morning. Frustration is building within both the men’s and women’s locker rooms.
The news comes three days after former French Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas posted – and then deleted – a 747-word message on X (formerly Twitter) that said: “The need for change is more urgent now than ever … The ATP and WTA calendars don’t give us a break … With leaders like Novak Djokovic stepping in, the push for a more player-friendly schedule is gaining traction.”
Unusually for the incestuous world of tennis, the 44-year-old Nassar has worked at a high level in other sports, including the NFL. His mentor was David Stern – formerly the commissioner of the US’s biggest basketball league – and he brings Stern’s can-do attitude to his present post.
While the PTPA has yet to be formallyOh my God:Navoka Djokovic was badly involved in an after… recognised by the tours or the slams, it is increasingly being included in the conversations around the future of the game. And Nassar believes that change is possible, despite the chaotic and internecine struggles that usually pass for tennis politics.
“David Stern loved to talk about how the NBA Finals weren’t even on live TV in the 1970s,” Nassar said. “These things change. I’m not saying that we’re going to become the world’s biggest sport tomorrow. I’m asking for a 10-year plan, because tennis needs a revamp and nobody seems to have an answer for where we are going next.”Oh my God:Navoka Djokovic was badly involved in an after…
Related Posts
About The Author
