World No.1 Novak Djokovic has said players have been ‘disrespected’ in their efforts to advance their interests within the ATP structure in a letter obtained by UbiTennis.
On Friday, rumours circulated that Djokovic had resigned from his position as the president of the ATP Players Council to spearhead a new Players’ Association. The Association, which is co-founded by Vasek Pospisil, is designed to enable ‘better and stronger representation in the tennis ecosystem.’ As for the legal side, the newly named Professional Tennis Players Association will be supported by firm Norton Rose Fulbright and its chairman Walied Soliman.
Addressing his peers, Djokovic interestingly states that the initiative is not a new move by saying various generations of the past have tried to do something similar. However, he goes on to describe the current structure of the ATP as ‘flawed’ with players not being treated as fairly as they should. Something the governing body of men’s tennis heavily denies.
“There are many reasons and factors why it didn’t happen until now but probably biggest reason is because players were not united,” the letter reads.
“(The) ATP structure that is flawed for players. I don’t think ATP structure and system is helping players. It has been proven many times in the past that this system is going against players.’
“I am not blaming anyone individually. Various presidents and managements tried to do different things over the years. And of course, some good things were done for our tour, without the doubt. But I think that most of you who have been on the tour for a while would agree that players are not regarded and treated as they should be in this system.”
In his lengthy statement, the 17-time Grand Slam champion sets out three primary reasons as to why players should join. The first he says is due to unhappiness expressed over the management of the ATP regarding some of the decisions they have made in recent times ranging from ranking points to the scheduling of tournaments. Andrea Gaudenzi started his role as ATP chairman at the start of this year. Although a critical Djokovic writes ‘It’s the process of lack of communication with players in big decisions and exclusion of players that is bothering me/us.’
Secondly, the move has been made in order to help players generate what is being described as ‘executive power.’ Or in other terms the absolute right to have a direct influence on decision-making. The role of the ATP Players Council is advisory only to the board. They can influence decisions, but they do not have the final say. Djokovic also says there are ‘conflicts of interest’ within the current structure.
Finally, supporters stress that this move isn’t intended to form a conflict with other governing bodies and their aim is to ‘enable stronger player representation.’ Djokovic claims the ‘majority’ of those in the top 500 in singles and the top 100 in doubles want this to happen. Although UbiTennis can’t verify this.
“We need to start from somewhere. We need to show our unity and strength. Not because we want to fight but because we want to be consulted, valued , respected on all big decisions that are happening in our sport and so far that has not been the case. We all know how many Agents, Federation people, business people have been on the Board and/ or another influential positions in sport have been there for decades working on their own interest, not caring too much about players. It’s a monopoly and that why in order to change something in favor of players we need to show unity ..”
Reaching out to his fellow tennis stars, Djokovic states that the Association ‘is perfectly legal in all jurisdictions’ and those who join will not be excluded from the ATP for whatever reason. Although in the following sentence, they say no job action will be taken ‘at this time.’ A vague reference but one that suggests that should things reach a low-point, strike action may be a possibility.
Those players interested in joining have been invited to sign up at a meeting in New York on Saturday evening at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center.
UbiTennis can also confirm that there is a big divide on the ATP Tour over this move and even a drift between the prestigious Big Three contingent. A letter co-signed by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Jurgen Melzer, Sam Querrey and Bruno Soares have formally opposed the move. They are all current members of the ATP Player’s Council. In a two-page statement issued less than 24 hours after Djokovic’s letter, the group voiced huge opposition.
‘We are not against the players. We are not against a united player approach. We are all for the players but do not risk it all down this path with such little information,” the letter from Federer and Co reads.
“We are against this proposal as we do not see how this actually benefits the players and it puts our lives on the Tour and security in major doubt.’
It reportedly expected that a photo of those signing up to Djokovic’s and Pospisil’s Association will be made public within the next 24 hours.
Read full letter on Page 2 :-
