World No.2 Rafael Nadal has hit out at the newly formed Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) following his opening win at the ATP Finals.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion believes that such an organisation is not needed in order to campaign for greater rights of players. The PTPA was launched shortly before the US Open and was co-founded by Novak Djokovic, who had to quit his role on the ATP Players Council to form the group. Its aim is to campaign players to have a greater say concerning the decision making of men’s tennis.
“We do not want to have an aggressive approach as has been said. We want players of all levels to be heard and their problems are taken into account, especially since hundreds of Players complain about the current system. We have to see how players can benefit from tennis, to be able to participate more and be able to make a living from that.” Djokovic told reporters last Friday.
Although Nadal doesn’t appear to be on the verge of joining the independent body anytime soon. He is an existing member of the ATP Council, along with Roger Federer, who have previously issued a statement urging players not to join the PTPA. Arguing that their objectives are not clear about how it will have an impact on the sport.
Asked about the ongoing situation following his win over Andrey Rublev on Sunday, Nadal has confirmed that he is yet to talk with Djokovic about the PTPA. Although the two have recently had a practice session together.
“They know my opinion,” he said. “ I will say one thing. They are creating this organization and they are trying to help the rest of the players more than us (ATP Council).’
“We are in the situation that we are today is not because of (just) me and Roger. Novak and Andy (Murray) and the top players went to the Tour and asked for what the other players we think deserved.
“If we compare the Tour today to five, six, seven, eight years ago, the improvement in terms of the income that the lower-ranked players have been significantly higher.”
Elaborating further Nadal says he believes the primary objective of the PTPA is no different to that of the ATP. Questioning if such an organisation is needed. Djokovic has previously hit back at similar comments by stating that other sports also have an independent player’s body for athletes.
“This does not mean that we (ATP Council) are not trying to keep helping and to keep promoting the idea that if more players are able to survive from our sport, our sport is gonna be bigger. We are talking about what we can do to try to make that happen, but we believe that we don’t need to create another organization to make that happen,” he said.
“The idea (of the PTPA) is not different; the approach is completely different.”
Nadal will play Dominic Thiem in his second match at the ATP Finals on Tuesday afternoon.
