Dubai Telegraph - Djokovic player union launches legal blitz against governing bodies

EUR -
AED 4.020422
AFN 77.142375
ALL 99.476233
AMD 428.621139
ANG 1.972506
AOA 1000.021678
ARS 1169.313822
AUD 1.720673
AWG 1.970368
AZN 1.863727
BAM 1.960858
BBD 2.209881
BDT 132.97546
BGN 1.956017
BHD 0.412645
BIF 3209.852387
BMD 1.094649
BND 1.458228
BOB 7.562786
BRL 6.207751
BSD 1.094463
BTN 94.698046
BWP 14.860879
BYN 3.581904
BYR 21455.116662
BZD 2.198452
CAD 1.56584
CDF 3147.115574
CHF 0.960665
CLF 0.026163
CLP 1004.000868
CNY 7.911898
CNH 7.912007
COP 4508.858445
CRC 545.82799
CUC 1.094649
CUP 29.008193
CVE 110.756417
CZK 25.032428
DJF 194.540981
DKK 7.459315
DOP 68.96303
DZD 146.101681
EGP 55.281515
ERN 16.419732
ETB 141.317141
FJD 2.497005
FKP 0.843085
GBP 0.842037
GEL 3.059595
GGP 0.843085
GHS 16.963727
GIP 0.843085
GMD 78.906816
GNF 9464.541659
GTQ 8.437088
GYD 229.089515
HKD 8.504939
HNL 27.989753
HRK 7.535531
HTG 143.693551
HUF 398.636618
IDR 17908.68265
ILS 4.018921
IMP 0.843085
INR 94.911177
IQD 1432.889992
IRR 46081.709712
ISK 146.436088
JEP 0.843085
JMD 171.187955
JOD 0.776123
JPY 163.387832
KES 141.688186
KGS 96.004109
KHR 4378.81423
KMF 493.053694
KPW 985.157255
KRW 1581.786802
KWD 0.33707
KYD 0.910361
KZT 545.911818
LAK 23709.267023
LBP 98023.860048
LKR 324.647229
LRD 218.821197
LSL 19.793291
LTL 3.232213
LVL 0.662142
LYD 5.266046
MAD 10.56719
MDL 19.88183
MGA 5095.51632
MKD 61.747066
MMK 2297.276334
MNT 3803.075585
MOP 8.760437
MRU 43.404432
MUR 49.290511
MVR 16.902813
MWK 1897.210498
MXN 21.806173
MYR 4.867573
MZN 69.92989
NAD 19.793291
NGN 1687.336529
NIO 40.25823
NOK 11.558304
NPR 151.929067
NZD 1.880872
OMR 0.421441
PAB 1.094649
PEN 3.998297
PGK 4.501599
PHP 62.656911
PKR 306.324546
PLN 4.193586
PYG 8699.405654
QAR 3.984709
RON 4.989162
RSD 117.462853
RUB 91.836151
RWF 1552.648394
SAR 4.104753
SBD 9.329534
SCR 15.728229
SDG 657.818552
SEK 10.992343
SGD 1.455969
SHP 0.860222
SLE 24.991183
SLL 22954.239392
SOS 624.953887
SRD 40.055601
STD 22657.020265
SVC 9.578206
SYP 14232.544373
SZL 19.793291
THB 36.768484
TJS 11.967813
TMT 3.827589
TND 3.372977
TOP 2.636225
TRY 40.164214
TTD 7.432862
TWD 36.085387
TZS 2909.44781
UAH 45.428459
UGX 4014.371256
USD 1.094649
UYU 46.665842
UZS 14178.11462
VES 71.409132
VND 27945.770014
VUV 134.886398
WST 3.043578
XAF 657.404926
XAG 0.032192
XAU 0.000361
XCD 2.96357
XDR 0.821752
XOF 657.404926
XPF 119.331742
YER 270.147278
ZAR 19.862414
ZMK 9853.15247
ZMW 31.345717
ZWL 352.47647
  • RBGPF

    0.3500

    66.78

    +0.52%

  • CMSC

    -0.1100

    23.22

    -0.47%

  • RYCEF

    0.0600

    10.51

    +0.57%

  • NGG

    -0.3300

    63.81

    -0.52%

  • SCS

    -0.0800

    10.93

    -0.73%

  • CMSD

    -0.1500

    23.39

    -0.64%

  • VOD

    -0.0200

    9.84

    -0.2%

  • GSK

    0.1400

    40.39

    +0.35%

  • RELX

    -0.6100

    48.99

    -1.25%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    12.98

    -0.15%

  • BCC

    -0.6600

    99.34

    -0.66%

  • RIO

    0.6700

    64.14

    +1.04%

  • AZN

    -0.3000

    77.07

    -0.39%

  • BCE

    0.0800

    23.78

    +0.34%

  • BTI

    -0.5800

    41.26

    -1.41%

  • BP

    0.4600

    34.22

    +1.34%

Djokovic player union launches legal blitz against governing bodies
Djokovic player union launches legal blitz against governing bodies / Photo: CLIVE BRUNSKILL - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Djokovic player union launches legal blitz against governing bodies

A tennis union co-founded by Novak Djokovic on Tuesday announced a series of legal actions aimed at the sport's governing bodies, alleging "anticompetitive restraints and abusive practices".

Text size:

The Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA) said it was suing the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), Women's Tennis Association (WTA), International Tennis Federation (ITF), and International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) in a series of actions in the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union.

The PTPA was set up by Djokovic and Canadian Vasek Pospisil in 2020. Some 20 players were named as part of at least one of the actions.

"The lawsuits expose systemic abuse, anti-competitive practices, and a blatant disregard for player welfare that have persisted for decades," said the PTPA statement. "The ATP, WTA, ITF, and ITIA operate as a cartel by implementing a number of draconian, interlocking anticompetitive restraints and abusive practices."

"Tennis is broken," said Ahmad Nassar, Executive Director of the PTPA. "Behind the glamorous veneer that the defendants promote, players are trapped in an unfair system that exploits their talent, suppresses their earnings, and jeopardises their health and safety."

The statement listed alleged abuses they are targeting.

It said the defendants "colluded", "fixing prize money and suppressing player earnings" forcing "an unsustainable schedule" and exploiting players financially.

The bodies show a "disregard for players" by making them "compete in 100-degree (Fahrenheit) heat, endure matches that ended at 3 AM, and play with different and injury-inducing tennis balls".

The PTPA also cited image right ownership, sponsorship restrictions and the "draconian system of ranking points".

The statement also complained that tennis violates player "privacy rights".

"Players are subjected to invasive searches of personal devices, random middle-of-the-night drug tests, and interrogations without legal representation," it said.

In addition to Djokovic and Pospisil, the seven-member PTPA executive council also includes players, Hubert Hurkacz, Ons Jabeur, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Taylor Townsend and SaiSai Zheng.

Australian Nick Kyrgios, France's Varvara Gracheva and American Reilly Opelka have joined the PTPA's case in the United States, while Frenchman Corentin Moutet and Japan's Taro Daniel have joined the case in the United Kingdom.

K.Al-Zaabi--DT