Djokovic-led Association of Professional Tennis Players, Men's and Women's Professional Tours, International Tennis Federation, etc. file an antitrust lawsuit

Mar 19, 2025

◇Pospisil and Djokovic discussing tactics during the doubles 32 match at the Adelaide International Tennis Championships on January 2, 2023 in Adelaide, Australia. AP Yonhap News

The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), led by Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and Baesik Pospisil (Canada), has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the men's professional tennis (ATP) tour, the Women's professional tennis (WTA) tour, the International Tennis Federation (ITF), and the International Tennis Integrity Organization (ITIA) in New York, USA, the European Commission, and the British Competition Market Office.

According to the Associated Press on the 19th, the PTPA said in a lawsuit that `tennis management organizations have control over players' salaries and working conditions, which violate exclusive provisions of state and federal law and prevent fair competition"Behind the colorful appearance promoted by the defendant, players are exploited for talent, income is controlled, and health and safety are threatened," he said. Founded in 2020, PTPA represents players who are independent contractors in tennis, an individual sport, and aims to have the same collective bargaining rights as the players' union in group sports in the future.

The ATP Tour and the WTA Tour said in a statement on the 19th that they planned to defend the PTPA, refuting its claims.

The WTA recently promised to raise player compensation by $400 million (about W5.3 trillion) and dismissed the PTPA's legal action as a `baseless claim.' ATP has also seen an increase of more than $70 million (W93 billion) in player compensation in the last five years""PTPA has been on a path of division and obstruction based on misinformation rather than the development of tennis." In light of the PTPA's past five years since its foundation, such lawsuits are not surprising."

Pospisil, Nick Kyrios (Australia), Sorana Krstea (Romania), and Riley Opelka (USA) participated in the lawsuit as plaintiffs, and Djokovic, who serves as a member of the PTPA's executive committee, was not included in the list of plaintiffs. In this regard, PTPA Secretary-General Ahmad Nasar stressed that "Djokovic is still deeply involved as an executive member of the PTPA and has had discussions with more than 250 people, including a majority of players in the world's top 20 rankings."

Meanwhile, the International Tennis Integrity Organization (ITIA) did not announce its position on the lawsuit, and an ITF spokesperson said "We will take appropriate time to review the response."

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.