Novak Djokovic has severed ties with the Skilled Tennis Gamers Affiliation, the gamers’ union he co-founded, saying “it has grow to be clear that my values and method are now not aligned with the present route of the group.”
The 24-time Grand Slam champion launched an unbiased group in 2021 with Canadian participant Vasek Pospisil. They stated they purpose to offer illustration to athletes who’re on unbiased contracts, primarily in particular person sports activities.
One of many objectives that emerged throughout that course of was to grow to be a full-fledged union of kinds that might negotiate collective bargaining agreements like those who exist in group sports activities, however that hasn’t occurred but.
Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, instructed the X present on Sunday that there have been “persevering with considerations about transparency, governance and the way my voice and picture is represented.”
In March, the PTPA filed a category motion lawsuit towards the ladies’s and males’s excursions, the Worldwide Tennis Federation and the Sporting Integrity Authority, accusing the organizations of “systematic abuse, anti-competitive conduct and a blatant disregard for participant welfare.” Later, the Large 4 was added as a defendant.
Djokovic was not listed as a plaintiff when the lawsuit was filed. So did Pospisil and different gamers who are actually retired.
That is as a result of Djokovic stated in March, “I would like different gamers to step up.”
The lawsuit argues that gamers deserve extra earnings, and alleges that the governing physique that oversees the Wimbledon, U.S. Open, French Open, Australian Open and different skilled occasions “limits gamers’ capacity to earn cash off the court docket by capping the quantity awarded in prize cash tournaments.”
Djokovic stated on Sunday: “I’ll proceed to concentrate on my tennis, my household, and contributing to the game in a manner that displays my rules and integrity. I want the gamers and officers all the very best shifting ahead, however for me this chapter is over.”
