Novak Djokovic Washes His Hands Of The Quasi-Player Union He Co-Founded | Defector

"Right before the 2020 U.S. Open, Novak Djokovic co-founded a group called the Professional Tennis Players Association. The sport is governed by a handful of powerful institutions, which face little pushback due to scant labor organization. The PTPA was intended to advocate for players' interests. It is not technically a union, because tennis players are not employees, but it is the closest thing the sport has to one."

"Tennis players are subject to the whims of the big institutions that make up the sport: the men's tour, the women's tour, the four Grand Slams, and the International Tennis Federation. They also earn a tiny fraction of the revenue that their play generates: Most years, the prize pool for a Grand Slam is around 15 percent of revenue, compared to the roughly 50 percent of revenue sharing seen in leagues with stronger collective bargaining."

"The men's and women's tours have player councils, which nominally represent player interests, but these operate within the confines of tour bureaucracy. To organize outside those constraints, Djokovic, an outgoing president of the tour player council, created the PTPA, alongside fellow player Vasek Pospisil. They had a splashy photo shoot and tried to get buy-in from other players. WTA players were not included at the outset, but eventually were brought into the fold."

Novak Djokovic co-founded the Professional Tennis Players Association before the 2020 U.S. Open to advocate for players' interests. Tennis is governed by a few powerful institutions — the men's and women's tours, the four Grand Slams, and the International Tennis Federation — and players receive a small share of revenue. Grand Slam prize pools typically amount to about 15 percent of revenue, versus roughly 50 percent in leagues with stronger collective bargaining. Existing player councils operate within tour bureaucracy, so Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil formed the PTPA to organize outside those constraints. After minimal activity and few tangible wins, Djokovic announced he would step away, citing concerns about transparency, governance, and representation.

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