Novak Djokovic has reiterated his belief that the organizational structure of the ATP has problems amid the ongoing argument over the subject of ranking points at Wimbledon.
Last Friday the ATP, along with the WTA and ITF, confirmed that they will not award points at this year’s grass court major in response to the decision of The All England Club to ban Russian and Belarussian players. Something which has divided opinion on the Tour with some players facing the prospect of suffering a big fall in their position due to being unable to defend the points they won at the Grand Slam 12 months ago. One example being Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics who could drop outside of the top 100.
Supporters such as WTA council member Sloane Stephens, have backed the move. From their perspective, it is unethical to ban players from a tournament purely on the basis of their nationality.
Earlier this week Djokovic described the situation as ‘lose-lose’ but has backed the ATP. He is the founder of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) which is an independent organization aimed at defending the rights of those on the Tour. Although the association has faced backlash with the ATP Players council previously urging their peers not to join when it was initially launched.
“The PTPA will continue to exist, even though there are a lot of people in governing bodies that don’t want us to be present in the tennis ecosystem,” Djokovic said following his second round win at the French Open.
“I said it before and I’m going to say it again, PTPA is the only association which is representing 100% players’ rights, both male and female.”
However, the 20-time Grand Slam champion admits that his PTPA is relatively powerless when it comes to the Wimbledon situation. They have been given no recognition by the governing bodies or Grand Slams. Meaning they are unable to have any degree of influence on ongoing discussions.
“I know I spoke to some players in the last few days, especially the ones that were doing well last year in Wimbledon and the ones that are affected the most with the points being taken out from Wimbledon,” Djokovic continued.
“We knew that whatever decision ATP makes — and that was actually a consequence or reaction to what Wimbledon decided to do a month ago with banning Russian/Belarusian players — there is going to be a lot of unhappy, unsatisfied players. So this is where we are.”
Djokovic himself will lose 2000 ranking points won at Wimbledon 12 months ago, which will place his No.1 position under strain heading into the American hardcourt swing.
The 35-year-old was a former president of the Player Council before leaving to form the PTPA. In his view, the way the governing body of men’s tennis is structured has a negative impact on players’ interests. Something others, such as council members Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, disagree with.
“The council of ATP that is within the structure, this representing body of players, and that’s how it’s been for decades. I don’t think that’s the best system that we have,” he said.
“I just think the system has failed players so many times, so many times, and that’s the reason why PTPA needs to exist because when it comes down to this kind of big decision (Wimbledon points ban) a lot of the players’ voices are not heard enough.’
“Unfortunately, within the ATP you have 50/50 percent of representation between players and tournaments. So you are never going to have 100% players’ interest in place.”
Djokovic will play Aljaz Bedene in the third round of the French Open on Friday.
