Players v tennis tours: why the lawsuit and what next?

BBC News

19-03-2025

The Professional Tennis Players' Association has, "on behalf of the entire player population", begun legal action against tennis' governing bodies in the US, the UK and the EU.Among other things, the association is unhappy with the prize money formula designed by the tours, the "unsustainable" 11-month schedule and "invasive searches of personal devices".The union, co-founded by Novak Djokovic five years ago, cites "anti-competitive practices and a blatant disregard for player welfare" in its lawsuit.Both the ATP and the WTA Tour have defended their record, pointing to the prize money and security they offer players.BBC Sport takes a look at how it came to this - and the prospects of a settlement that could avoid the type of split witnessed in golf when the LIV Tour was created.
What is the PTPA and why was it formed?
On 30 August 2020, about 70 players - all wearing masks - posed for a socially distanced photograph on the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open.It heralded the start of the PTPA and featured Novak Djokovic in the foreground. He had been advocating for a player union for some time and was announced as a co-founder alongside the 2014 Wimbledon doubles champion Vasek Pospisil.Frustrated by the structure of the ATP and WTA Tours - which look after the interests of both players and tournaments - Djokovic wanted an organisation that worked exclusively for the players.Increased prize money was a major goal - especially at the Grand Slams, where he and others believe not enough of the revenue generated ends up in the pockets of the performers.
Why is Novak Djokovic not listed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit?
Pospisil and Nick Kyrgios are among 12 players listed as plaintiffs alongside the PTPA in the papers filed at the US District Court in New York.Djokovic was listed as a plaintiff on a draft version seen by BBC Sport, but his name did not appear on the official papers."Vasek [Pospisil] and I were on the phone with Novak bright and early," the PTPA's executive director Ahmad Nassar explained on Tuesday."So he's certainly very involved, very up to speed and he's still a sitting member of our executive committee."To some extent, we collectively made the decision that this is about much more than one player and we are realistic in knowing that there is this inclination to default to the biggest name."And so we wanted to allow other players to step up - this is about all the players and not just now, but also in the future."
What are the PTPA's main grievances?
The PTPA claims there is collusion between the tours and the tournaments, which suppresses competition between tournaments and may artificially restrict prize money.The association also wants to bring to an end the "unsustainable" schedule and prevent "invasive searches of personal devices and random middle-of-the-night drug tests" by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).So, if successful, how does the PTPA envisage a player's world looking in future?"Prize money is increased, of course," Nassar says."But what we really want to focus on is you get one ball per swing. Grass court, one ball. Hard court, one ball. Clay court, one ball."None of this week-to-week variance that puts undue and unnecessary pressure on wrists and elbows and shoulders."A season schedule that not only is shorter and makes sense but allows for meaningful rest and recovery for the players, and a better voice and representation that means we don't have to resort to these extreme measures every five or 10 years."
What are the tours already doing in these areas?
The ATP says prize money has increased by $70m (£54m) in the past five years, and can point to the $28.5m (£22m) of prize money available to emerging and lower ranked players on the Challenger Tour this year.A profit-sharing model was introduced in 2022 and ensures players receive 50% of the profits generated by the ATP's nine Masters 1,000 tournaments.The ATP's prize money formula sets a minimum level for different categories of tournaments. For a Masters 1,000 event with a 96-man draw, for example, that figure is $9.193m (£7.1m).There is, in theory, no maximum, although if an owner wants to raise prize money by, say, 50% they would need to do so evenly across the draw.The WTA says $221m (£170.5m) of prize money was distributed last year - $42m (£32m) more than in 2023.The ITIA's out-of-competition drug tests take place between 5am and 11pm. Players have to provide a one-hour time window when they will be available for every day of the year.They must also hand over their mobile phones to investigators, as this is often a vital source of evidence when there is suspicion of corruption.All requests to investigate a player's phone must first be signed off by the ITIA's investigations director.
Is there any common ground?
Almost everyone in tennis agrees the season should be shorter, and this was at the centre of last year's discussions - which are yet to bear fruit - about the formation of a Premium Tour. The idea came initially from Tennis Australia and its chief executive Craig Tiley. Various models were discussed, with the goal of creating a season which finished in October and featured just the four Grand Slams and 10 or 11 other events before the end-of-season tour finals, the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.The ATP and the WTA also believe matches should not finish so late and there should be greater consistency in the tennis balls used.The tours announced at the start of last year that matches should not go on court after 11pm, although in "exceptional circumstances, a tournament may request waivers based on local cultural traditions, weather conditions, or other extenuating situations".The choice of which ball to use is now being made centrally by the ATP, rather than by individual tournaments. Anomalies still exist, although this is partly explained by commercial agreements which still have years to run.
Could this be settled out of court?
The PTPA's Nassar says there is no intention to rip apart the sport, in the way the LIV Tour has divided golf. He goes so far as to say settling out of court is one of the association's goals."The goal is not to litigate this to the end," Nassar says."We are absolutely prepared to do that. We've built a real organisation, we've built a war chest to be able to see this through."But what we want is to get everybody to the table to reform the sport the way that many of them have already spoken about."Those talks will not be easy to organise. There is a lot of bad blood between the PTPA and the tours. On Tuesday, the ATP accused the PTPA of consistently choosing "division and distraction through misinformation over progress"."Happy to add defamation to our lawsuits," was Nassar's response on social media.The ATP will have confidence in its legal position after winning an anti-trust case brought by the German Tennis Federation in 2008 and so some of the PTPA's demands may need to be addressed by a court.What is certain is that this will be a very costly exercise for all sides, which will financially affect the tours and the players for as long it lasts.