Novak Djokovic ‘is 100% right’ for forming PTPA as ATP told they ‘need to grow some cojones’

Tennis News

Shahida Jacobs
May 16, 2023

Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash has thrown his support behind the Novak Djokovic-led Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA) as he feels players and tournaments are being overshadowed by tournament directors.

Djokovic, Canadian Vasek Pospisil and American John Isner stunned the tennis world on the eve of the 2020 US Open when they announced they had formed the PTPA, insisting “This is not a union. This is player association.”

The move was met with outrage by the ATP powers that be and some top players – including the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray – insisted they would not support the PTPA.

The PTPA though forged ahead with its operations and at the start of this year they announced their first-ever executive committee with Djokovic Hubert Hurkacz and Isner as well as top women’s players Ons Jabeur and Paula Badosa part of the eight-member group.

The association has made it clear that they want players to get a bigger share of the pie, especially those lower down the rankings, improve player well-being and potentially reduce the tennis season, among other things.

Australian Cash feels it is about time that the sport gets a players’ union as he backed Djokovic’s PTPA, especially when it comes to taking on tournament directors.

“I think the ATP and WTA are losing their way in some of these things,” the 1987 Wimbledon winner said on the Control the Controllables podcast. “We need a players’ union. There’s no doubt. Always has been.

“Our voice is being lost by tournament directors. I don’t mean lost, but it certainly can be overshadowed by tournament directors who obviously need to make a living but they are promoters.

“They promote a tour. They are no different than rock band [promotors], who promote a tour. Instead of asking the promotors ‘oh what do you think we should do’. Instead, they [ATP] are coming cap in hand to the promoters. They are promoters and not tournament directors, they’re tournament promoters. They are no different than rock promotors.

“The ATP needs to grow some cojones and they need to have a player’s union and Novak is 100% right and all other players are 100% behind him and they need to have their own voice.”

“The doubles players need to put their hands up and go ‘yeah we need a union’.”

Novak Djokovic Pat Cash