Professional Tennis Players Association

Last updated
PTPA
Professional Tennis Players Association
Founded2019;4 years ago (2019)
Location
  • Canada
Key people
Website ptpaplayers.com

The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) is an association of male and female tennis players founded by the players Vasek Pospisil and Novak Djokovic. The group represents singles players in the top 500 and doubles players in the top 200 of the ATP rankings and WTA rankings.

Contents

It was founded by players who had previously been members of the Association of Tennis Professionals Players Council. Members of the PTPA include Novak Djokovic, the outgoing president of the Council, and Vasek Pospisil. The pair will initially serve as co-presidents of the PTPA for a two-year period. The PTPA is governed by a board of trustees of nine members, to be elected annually.

As the ATP is the representative of both players and tournaments, a greater degree of autonomy for players is sought by the members of the PTPA. According to proponents of the new association, the current structure makes having decisions in the best interests of the players difficult, given the conflicting and complex interests of tournaments, Grand Slam bodies and the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The PTPA said in a document that the goal of their organization was "not to replace" the ATP but to "provide players with a self-governance structure that is independent from the ATP and is directly responsive to player-members needs and concerns". [1]

Beginnings

The concept for the PTPA began in 2019, when Vasek Pospisil and Novak Djokovic found they shared a perception of shortcomings on how the ATP protected the interest of its players.

Across 2020, they aimed to form and consolidate a movement, and it was formally founded as a non-profit in Canada in 2021, with the aim to "create transparency and fairness throughout decision-making in professional tennis", with membership being open to both men and women ranked in the top 350 in singles and/or top 150 in doubles. [2]

Launch

The initial announcement and launch of the PTPA was done at the US Open on August 29, 2020. The announcement was posted on Vasek Pospisil's Twitter account and included a picture of the members standing on the court in masks with the caption, "After today's successful meeting, we are excited to announce the beginning of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA). The first player only association in tennis since 1972. #PTPA". [3] After the initial launch there was not much movement, however on June 22, 2021 the PTPA released a formal press release on their official Twitter account announcing their advisory board and public communications firm, ANACHEL Communications Inc., as well as their website and social channels. They also launched their own website, www.ptpaplayers.com, which includes their mission and value statements, list of advisory board members, player stories, and an FAQ page to answer all questions those may have about the association. The official launch of the PTPA was concluded with a global press conferencethat included the founders of the association, Vasek Pospisil and Novak Djokovic, the executive director of the PTPA, Adam Larry, and CEO of ANACHEL Communications Inc., Carrie Gerlach Cecil. The press conference was opened to all tennis writers around the world and was livestreamed on YouTube for all to see.

Response

Milos Raonic stated his intention to join the group: Raonic has expressed his displeasure with Andrea Gaudenzi, the chairman of the ATP on the body's handling of the COVID crisis. Speaking after his semifinal win at the Cincinnati Masters held in New York due to the pandemic, Raonic said:

"Players have had plenty of time to think and reflect and take a look at certain parts which they may not be happy with and discuss...A lot of us were kept in the dark by our leadership for six months. We were disappointed with many things. I voiced my opinion on many things, such as ... executives in other sports taking pay cuts to support us. As tennis players, we weren’t making a dime for months and months. ... Lower guys weren’t making a dime," Raonic said. "But our executives were staying home and didn’t feel it necessary to take any pay cuts. I pushed for that on every single phone call we had". [4]

Gaudenzi was critical of the PTPA and said that "You have what other athletes in other sports would strive for — a seat at the boardroom table. That is what players fought for in the creation of the ATP Tour...It makes no sense why you would be better served by shifting your role from the inside to the outside of the governance structure". [1]

Pospisil said in a statement that it was "very difficult, if not impossible, to have any significant impact on any major decisions made by our tour" and that "Our voices will finally be heard and we will soon have an impact on decisions that affect our lives and livelihoods". [1]

In response, the ATP, the WTA, the four Grand Slam tournaments and the ITF released a statement in support of the ATP and said that "It is a time for even greater collaboration, not division; a time to consider and act in the best interests of the sport, now and for the future...When we work together, we are a stronger sport". [1] The PTPA has drawn the opposition of players including Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, the former writing on Twitter: "It is time for unity, not for separation. These are moments where big things can be achieved as long as the world of tennis is united". [5] Andy Murray meanwhile argued that while he is "not totally against a player union", the WTA should be on its board and the current ATP management "should be given some time to implement their vision". [6]

This is not the first time that professional tennis players have called for a players' only union or body. Former world number 1, Andy Roddick, tweeted on 29 August in response to the news, "It's almost like someone should have said something a decade ago". [7] Roddick has called for a players union as far back as 2011. [8]

In November 2020, after a refusal of the ATP to allow Djokovic and Pospisil to return to the ATP player council, they were said to have been nominated by their peers, Pospisil gave an interview to tennis.com podcast, to clarify why they accepted their nomination, and argued further about the need for the new association:

"We basically don't have any information and the tournaments don't need to provide anything and don't need to be transparent at all," he says. "And that's not a business partnership. And especially when we're the product, where people come in and pay money to watch the players play. It's nothing confrontational. We're not here to be confrontational at all." [9]

Support

Support of the PTPA has been widespread since the launch by both current and former players around the globe. A year after its foundation, it had over 500 members. [2]

American tennis players John Isner and Ryan Harrison have voiced their support on Twitter and have identified as members of the association. Top 30 players such as Hubert Hurkacz, Reilly Opelka, and Pablo Carreno Busta have done the same.

Support from former players in the tennis world stems from Paul McNamee, Mats Wilander, and Patrick McEnroe. Denis Shapovalov has also voiced his support of the association. [10]

Leadership and Player Executive Committee

In August 2022, the PTPA announced former CEO of OneTeam Partners, Ahmad Nassar, as its Executive Director. [11]

In January 2023, the following players were announced to be part of the association's inaugural Player Executive Committee: [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radek Štěpánek</span> Czech tennis player

Radek Štěpánek is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 1000 event finals and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2006, as well as winning the deciding match for Czech Republic's Davis Cup winning team in 2012 and again in 2013. In doubles, he won his first Grand Slam title at the 2012 Australian Open, along with Indian partner Leander Paes, defeating the Bryan Brothers in the final. Paes and Štěpánek also won the men's doubles title at the 2013 US Open, defeating Bruno Soares and Alexander Peya in the final. In November 2017, he became a coach of Novak Djokovic and in May 2019, he joined Andre Agassi as part of Grigor Dimitrov's coaching staff.

The 2007 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 118th edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2007 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2007 WTA Tour. The men's event took place at the Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from August 6 through August 12, 2007, and the women's event at the Rexall Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from August 13 through August 20, 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasek Pospisil</span> Canadian tennis player

Vasek Pospisil is a Canadian professional tennis player. Pospisil has a career-high world singles ranking of No. 25, and No. 4 in doubles. Along with partner Jack Sock, he won the 2014 Wimbledon Championships and the 2015 Indian Wells Masters men's doubles titles. He also reached the quarterfinals in singles at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships.

This page covers all the important events in the sport of tennis in 2009. Primarily, it provides the results of notable tournaments throughout the year on both the ATP and WTA Tours, the Davis Cup, and the Fed Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milos Raonic</span> Canadian tennis player (born 1990)

Milos Raonic is a Canadian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved on 21 November 2016, making him the highest-ranked Canadian player in history. Raonic is the first Canadian man in the Open Era to reach the Australian Open semifinals, the French Open quarterfinals, and the Wimbledon final. He has won eight ATP Tour titles.

The 2011 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Canada. It was the 122nd edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour. The women's and legends event was held at the Rexall Centre in Toronto, Canada and the men's event took place at the Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, Canada, from August 8 to August 14.

This page covers all the important events in the sport of tennis in 2012. Primarily, it provides the results of notable tournaments throughout the year on both the ATP and WTA Tours, the Davis Cup, and the Fed Cup.

The 2012 Rogers Cup was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 123rd edition and the 111th of the Canadian Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2012 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier 5 tournaments of the 2012 WTA Tour. The women's and legends' events were held at the Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, from August 4 to August 13 and the men's event at the Rexall Centre in Toronto, from August 4 to August 12.

The 2013 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 124th edition and the 112th of the Canadian Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2013 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier 5 tournaments of the 2013 WTA Tour. The men's event was held at the Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, from August 3 to August 11 and the women's and legends events at the Rexall Centre in Toronto, from August 3 to August 11.

The 2014 ATP World Tour Finals (also known as the 2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for sponsorship reasons) was a men's tennis tournament played at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom, between 9 and 16 November 2014. It was the season-ending event for the best singles players and doubles teams on the 2014 ATP World Tour. The Bryan Brothers won the title at the doubles tournament, while Novak Djokovic successfully defended his single title for the second time after Roger Federer withdrew from the final, the first walkover in a final in the tournament's 45-year history.

Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in the final, 6–7(7–9), 6–4, 7–6(7–4), 5–7, 6–4 to win the gentlemen's singles tennis title at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships. It was his second Wimbledon title and seventh major title overall.

The 2014 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the China Open for the men. It was part of ATP World Tour 500 series on the 2014 ATP World Tour, and the last WTA Premier Mandatory tournament of the 2014 WTA Tour. Both the men's and the women's events were held at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, China, from September 27 to October 5, 2014.

The 2014 BNP Paribas Masters was a professional men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 42nd edition of the tournament, and part of the 2014 ATP World Tour. It took place at the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, between 28 October and 2 November 2014. First-seeded Novak Djokovic won the singles title.

The 2015 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 126th edition and the 114th of the Canadian Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2015 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier 5 tournaments of the 2015 WTA Tour, plus is the 2015 US Open Series event. The men's event was held at the Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, from August 10 to August 16, and the women's event at the Aviva Centre in Toronto, from August 10 to August 16.

The 2015 BNP Paribas Masters was a professional men's tennis tournament that was played on indoor hard courts. It was the 43rd edition of the tournament, and part of the World Tour Masters 1000 category of the 2015 ATP World Tour. It took take place at the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, between 31 October and 8 November 2015. First-seeded Novak Djokovic won the singles title.

The 2017 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 128th edition and the 125th of the Canadian Open. The tournament was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2017 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier 5 tournaments of the 2017 WTA Tour, and is also a 2017 US Open Series event. The women's event was held at the Aviva Centre in Toronto, from August 7 to August 13 and the men's event was held at the Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, from August 7 to August 13.

The 2019 Rogers Cup were outdoor hard court tennis tournaments played from August 5–11, 2019, as part of the 2019 US Open Series. It was the 130th edition of the men's Canadian Open, a Masters 1000 event on the 2019 ATP Tour at IGA Stadium in Montreal, and the 118th edition of the women's tournament, a Premier 5 event of the 2019 WTA Tour played at Aviva Centre in Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Australian Open – Men's singles</span> 2020 tennis event results

Defending champion Novak Djokovic defeated Dominic Thiem in the final, 6–4, 4–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 2020 Australian Open. It was his record-extending eighth Australian Open title and 17th major title overall. With the win, Djokovic regained the world No. 1 singles ranking, and became the first player since Ken Rosewall to win major titles in three different decades, and the first to do so in the Open Era. The match also marked the first time Djokovic came back to win a major final after trailing two sets to one, having lost each of the last seven times this happened. Thiem became the first Austrian to reach the final. This was Thiem's third major runner-up finish in as many finals.

The 2021 Canadian Open were outdoor hard court tennis tournaments played from August 6 to August 15, 2021, as part of the 2021 US Open Series. The men's event took place at the Aviva Centre in Toronto, and the women's tournament at the IGA Stadium in Montreal. It was the 131st edition of the men's tournament—a Masters 1000 tournament on the 2021 ATP Tour, and the 119th edition of the women's tournament—a WTA 1000 tournament on the 2021 WTA Tour.

The 2020 Erste Bank Open was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 46th edition of the event, and part of the ATP Tour 500 Series of the 2020 ATP Tour. It was held at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, from 26 October until 1 November 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Rothenberg, Ben (28 August 2020). "Djokovic and Other Top Men Are Creating a Players' Association". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 Newcomb, Tim (30 August 2021). "After One Year, Professional Tennis Players Association Has 500 Members And Is Expanding Benefits". Forbes. Retrieved 10 July 2022. The PTPA, officially founded as a not-for-profit corporation in Canada, now has over 500 global members.
  3. @vasekpospisil (August 29, 2020). "After today's successful meeting, we are excited to announce the beginning of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA). The first player only association in tennis since 1972" (Tweet). Retrieved 2021-08-13 via Twitter.
  4. "DJOKOVIC, POSPISIL PUSHING TO LEAD NEW MEN'S TENNIS PLAYERS UNION". Tennis.com. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  5. Fuller, Russell (30 August 2020). "Novak Djokovic resigns as ATP player council president". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  6. Mitchell, Kevin (29 August 2020). "Andy Murray and Dan Evans make clear opposition to breakaway union". The Observer. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  7. Roddick, Andy [@andyroddick] (29 August 2020). "t.co/ZTlGfuaDm8 It's almost like someone should have said something a decade ago t.co/RKXElelA3u" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2021 via Twitter.
  8. "Roddick: Players should consider union". Sportsnet. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  9. https://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2020/11/vasek-pospisil-ptpa-player-council-podcast-sofia-us-open-canada/91885/%7Ctitle=Vasek Pospisil discusses the mission of the PTPA|work=Tennis.com|accessdate=29 November 2020.
  10. "'I am on their side' - Denis Shapovalov backs Vasek Pospisil and PTPA". Tennishead. 2021-03-28. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  11. "Ahmad Nassar named Executive Director of PTPA". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  12. "Jabeur among 8 on PTPA player executive comm". ESPN.com. 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2023-01-29.