"Players voices are not heard enough" - Djokovic wants recognition for the PTPA

"Players voices are not heard enough" - Djokovic wants recognition for the PTPA

by Erik Virostko

Last updated

Novak Djokovic has expressed his belief that his Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) should have been part of the talks about the decision that saw Wimbledon lose its points.

Djokovic is a former member of the ATP Players's Council. He stepped down in 2020, and his decision to do so was motivated by the fact that he thought the ATP was not doing the job they were supposed to be doing.

Together with Vasek Pospisil, he formed the PTPA to better represent players in tennis. His association now aims to represent players in all important talks, and that's why he talked about it at the 2022 Roland Garros.

“We are still a young organisation, and it takes time to set up structure in the system. But it will probably take the most time and be challenging for us to really be accepted as part of the system."

"Right now we are not. We are not in the negotiations table where we should be, because we are not just acknowledged by Slams or anybody else."

Djokovic has criticized the decision to strip Wimbledon of its points, believing there is a better way to protect the rights of Russian and Belarusian players after the event banned them.

Djokovic did not agree with the ban either but as a player who will lose 2,000 points without a chance to get them, he wasn't thrilled by the decision to remove points from this year's edition.

According to the Serbian player, the "system has failed players" too many times for the PTPA not to exist and represent them where it's needed. He wants the players' voices to be heard, which was the motivation behind the formation of the PTPA.

"I just think the system has failed players so many times and that’s the reason why PTPA needs to exist, because when it comes down to this kind of big decisions, a lot of the players’ voices are not heard enough."

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