MELBOURNE – Novak Djokovic laid out the reasons behind his decision to step away from the players’ union he helped create.
“I felt my name was being overused. Whenever people think about the PTPA, they think it’s my organization, and that was wrong from the very beginning,” explained the 10-time Australian Open champion ahead of his 21st appearance at the tournament.
“I didn’t like the direction the leadership was taking with the PTPA, and that’s why I decided to step out,” he confessed.
Djokovic founded the Professional Tennis Players Association in 2020 alongside Canadian player Vasek Pospisil. The goal was to shake up the sport by taking power away from organizations such as the ATP (men’s tour), the WTA (women’s tour), the ITF (International Tennis Federation) and the Grand Slams, and handing it to the players.
“From day one, the mission was clear: to give players a stronger voice and to contribute to expanding the number of players who are able to live from this sport across all levels. I don’t see the vision as clearly as I did in 2020,” admitted the former world No. 1.
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Djokovic invested time and energy in the project, but never managed to convince the sport’s biggest stars to join the cause. “When players need to be active, during negotiations and decision-making moments, they don’t participate enough,” he commented during the last US Open.
By the time he made that remark in New York, his relationship with the PTPA had already ended. That had become clear months earlier, when the union filed a landmark lawsuit against the ATP, WTA, ITF and the Grand Slams, accusing them of “operating as a cartel”. Djokovic was not among the signatories.
In Melbourne, he confirmed it: “One of the reasons I exited was also the lawsuit in Miami. I didn’t agree with everything that was in there, and I decided not to be one of the player plaintiffs.”
The Serbian made clear that he will continue to support the idea behind the organization: “I still believe there is room and a real need for a 100% players-only representation organization in our ecosystem. I hope they will continue to thrive, to exist, to grow, to develop”.
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