Novak Djokovic feels PTPA should’ve been part of Wimbledon talks ‘as players’ voices are not heard enough’
He concedes that his Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) is not “acknowledged by Slams or anybody else”, but Novak Djokovic believes they should have been part of the negotiations when it came to stripping Wimbledon of ranking points.
Tennis has been in turmoil ever since the All England Club and Lawn Tennis Association announced that Russian and Belarusian players would be banned from all grass-court tournaments in the United Kingdom, including Wimbledon.
The move was widely criticised as the ATP, WTA and ITF opted to allow players from the two countries to compete as individuals on the respective tours following Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine.
On the back of discussions with the respective player councils, the ATP and WTA retaliated by announcing that no ranking points will be awarded for those who take part at Wimbledon this year.
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Djokovic, who – along with Canadian Vasek Pospisil – stepped down from the ATP Player Council and launched the PTPA in August 2020, believes his organisation should have been involved in discussions.
“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,” he said.
“We are not in the negotiations table where we should be, because we are not just acknowledged by Slams or anybody else.”
The 20-time Grand Slam winner was also critical of the system as it has “failed players many times” and he hopes the PTPA will help to change that.
“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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