An initiative backed by Novak Djokovic failed to gain momentum after two of the biggest names of men’s tennis failed to get behind it, according to Vasek Pospisil.
The world No.93 said up to 80 players in the top 100 on the ATP Tour were in favor of a motion to form an independent union to support their rights. A topic that has been debated in the sport for many months with nothing coming to fruition as of yet. One of the main driving forces behind the calls is that player’s want a greater share of revenue generated from the four grand slam tournaments. Despite rises in prize money, the share still works out at roughly 10%.
Pospisil has been one of the biggest supporters of unionisation. Writing an article for The Globe and Mail last year, he argues that such a move would ‘restore fairness and transparency.’ In a recent interview with TSN, the Canadian said 12 out of the world’s top 20 backed the motion. Although two top names of the sport failed to get behind the proposal.
“Tennis is extremely International. So unionizing players is not that easy because you have all these conflicting labor laws from different countries. It’s a very tricky, difficult scenario. But when I got injured last year I tried to have a crack at it. We are definitely closer than ever. We are definitely more unified than ever before,” Pospisil said in an interview with TSN.
“Novak was sort of it from the get-go. At one point we were 80 of the top 100 male players signed onto the engagement letter, Novak being one of them. I had like 12 of the top 20, but when we went with Roger and Rafa they were not in favor.”
“Actually, they just wanted to go themselves and talk to the Grand Slams, which is something that went against the gist of what we were trying to do. It’s a shame, to be honest,” he added.
Both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal rejoined the ATP player’s council last August in a bid to reunite the men’s tour following various disagreements. Including the decision to move Chris Kermode last year which divided opinion. The council is headed by Djokovic with Pospisil also being a long-time member.
“I’ve had some great chats with Roger. I like him a lot, he is a great guy,” said Pospisil. “He was totally in support of the concept and agrees with a lot of the issues but ultimately didn’t get behind the actual movement which slowed it down a little bit for sure.’
“At the end of the day it’s the mass of players that is more powerful than a couple. You can’t just have two guys playing an exhibition every event. That’s not going to carry tennis very far.”
Despite his criticism, Pospisil has insisted that the Big Three ‘work really well’ on the council together. Although he admits that each of them have ‘very big personalities.’ He also hailed Djokovic for his leadership and commitment to the sport. The Serbian has been the president since 2016.
The Players’ council issue advisory decisions to the ATP board of directors and members are elected by their peers.
‘Kyrgios hasn’t got the information’
Elsewhere in his interview with TSN, Pospisil has also taken aim at Nick Kyrgios after the Australian recently voiced his opposition to the idea of the ATP and WTA Tour’s being merged. Support for a merger has surged in recent weeks following a tweet from Federer that backed the initiative. Andrea Gaudenzi, who is the chairman of the ATP, had already been in talks with the WTA about working closely together in the future.
“Did anyone ask the majority of the ATP what they think about merging with the WTA and how it is good for us?” Kyrgios wrote on Twitter.
“We shouldn’t merge.” He later added.
Questioned about Kyrgios’ view, Pospisil said the Australian was in no position to comment because he didn’t know the full facts of what was going on. Talks are ongoing behind closed doors and it is unclear as to if or when any collaboration may occur.
“You know what, it’s because a lot of players express, or people in general, will express an opinion without having any information, just because they feel like they want to say something,” he said.
“That might be the case with Nick.
“To be honest, he’s in no position to express an opinion when he just hears about this for the first time and has done zero due diligence.
“There are some guys like that and I’ll have no problem telling him that to his face.”
Earlier this week WTA boss Steve Simon told The New York Times that a merger would ‘make all the sense in the world.’ Although he rules out the concept of an acquisition taking place. Should such a move take place, it will likely take a considerable amount of time due to the complexity of the process.
At present there are seven governing bodies of tennis. Besides the men’s and women’s tours, there are also the ITF and a board for each of the four grand slams.
Pospisil’s full interview with TSN can be watched below
