Shortly after winning the Masters 1,000 in Cincinnati last Saturday, Novak Djokovic struck a coup in the world of tennis with the creation of a players association (PTPA, short for Professional Tennis Players Association) outside the ATP, a group not yet too defined that will defend the rights only of tennis players, without counting on other guilds, such as tournaments. Initially, women are not included either. Both he, who was the president, and the Canadian Vasek Pospisil, his squire in the project, left the ATP Players Council. And they were followed by the vice president, Kevin Anderson.
“Many players from different generations have tried to form an association or federation to be better represented in the tennis ecosystem. There are many different factors and reasons why this was not the case, but the main one is probably the lack of uniqueness. The structure of ATP is imperfect for us. It doesn't help, it's against us “wrote Djokovic, who also speaks of lack of respect from the governing bodies of his sport in the letter he sent to his teammates to announce his initiative. A whole declaration of intent that fell like a bomb on the ATP and that some stars saw as a misstep. So expressed it Nadal: “It is time for unity, not for separation. We all, players, tournaments and governing bodies, have to work together. Separation and disunity is definitely not the solution ”. Federer seconded him: “I agree with Rafa. These are uncertain and challenging times, it is essential to be united as players and as a sport to pave the best way forward ”.
Pablo Carreño supports you
Convinced of the need for this new PTPA, Djokovic announced his birth with great fanfare with a photograph on one of the US Open courts in which many of his colleagues appeared, especially Balkans and Americans. The presence of Spaniards was not appreciated, But AS spoke with Pablo Carreño and the man from Gijón defended the project: “It is a movement that affects us all, with the intention that we can come to an agreement and debate. The subject is talked too badly. You do not want to enter a war with the ATP, nor the tournaments, nor the agents nor the players who do not agree. There are communication problems and issues, such as coaching, that the ATP does not test. It is done to add, not to confront anyone ”.
The fact is, the world number one has a lot of support, even on the WTA. “I would like to know more about this, but I am always from the Djokovic team and have strong opinions that are often true,” says Serena Williams. The enemies of the Balkan, with Nick Kyrgios in the lead, see the PTPA as a smokescreen to dispel the bad image that the Balkan gave with his crazy Adria Tour, which caused coronavirus infections. The fact is that Nole has not only not emerged weakened from that event, but his influence is growing. At the US Open, without Nadal or Federer, he is the master.