World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka Reacts To PTPA's Lawsuit Against ATP & WTA
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WTA world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka spoke for the first time about the Professional Tennis Players' Association's lawsuit against the ATP, WTA, ITF, and ITIA and said she supported one aspect of it.
The PTPA's lawsuit contained many complaints, including players competing in the early hours of the morning, sustaining injuries due to playing with different balls at each tournament, and privacy issues related to random doping tests and phone confiscations.
Another issue raised was the percentage of the revenue generated that players receive. Verifiable statistics prove that other sports, such as baseball and basketball, give their players a higher percentage of the revenue than tennis.
Although Sabalenka admitted in a press conference that she did not pay much attention to the lawsuit before her opening match of the 2025 Miami Open, she supports players getting an improved share of the revenue created at tournaments, especially the Grand Slams.
"Well, honestly, I didn't have much time to look into information, because I just didn't want to dig into it because I'm trying to focus on my tennis, and I didn't want to be upset or anything about the situation."
"But if, I mean, something I would like to see is definitely maybe not like only WTA players but all of the players getting probably more percentage out of money they making on the tournaments and the slams, especially? I think that's fair enough. And if we look at other sports, like, the percentage goes a bit like differently, so I think that's the only wish I have."
Although Sabalenka did not want to talk much about the subject, it seemed evident that she does not support every aspect of the lawsuit. The three-time Grand Slam champion would have probably brought up more complaints if that were the case.
It also appears that Sabalenka is another top player who was not told about the PTPA's lawsuit before the action became official. While not explicitly stated, her words about not having time to look into the information strongly indicate she knew nothing beforehand.
Coco Gauff's response to the PTPA's lawsuit was similar to Sabalenka's. The American confirmed that she knew nothing about it until seeing the news on social media, and is also most interested in seeing a fairer percentage of revenue going to players.
Carlos Alcaraz was another player who revealed that the PTPA had not consulted him before announcing its lawsuit. However, the Spaniard was more blunt than Sabalenka and Gauff, saying he did not support the lawsuit since no one told him about it.
The most surprising response came from Novak Djokovic. Despite co-founding the PTPA with Vasek Pospisil, he did not put his name on the lawsuit and admitted to not agreeing with every part of the legal action.
Pospisil claimed that most players agreed with the lawsuit when it was announced, but the responses so far have cast doubt on whether most players even knew about it. The PTPA might have been better off taking a more transparent approach that included more players.
