Tennis at war as Alcaraz opposes legal action by Djokovic union PTPA
Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz insists he does not support legal action taken against the ATP and WTA Tours by Novak Djokovic’s Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA).
The PTPA this week brought lawsuits “on behalf of the entire player population” against tennis chiefs, alleging that they abused their dominant position to the detriment of players’ welfare.
Comments made by Alcaraz to the media appear in documents supporting the legal action but the Spaniard says he wasn’t aware of it and doesn’t endorse it.
“It was surprising for me, because no one had told me about it,” said the four-time Grand Slam winner.
“There are things I agree with and there are other things I don’t agree with. The main thing is I don’t support what was done.
“Yesterday I saw on social media that they put something I said in a press conference in the documents and I wasn’t aware of it. I honestly don’t support that letter, because I wasn’t aware of it.”
Why is Djokovic’s PTPA suing tennis tours?
The PTPA, which was founded by Djokovic, hopes to force reform by suing the men’s and women’s elite tours, the International Tennis Federation and International Tennis Integrity Agency, which manages anti-doping efforts in the game.
Djokovic is not named as one of the 12 plaintiffs, which include co-founder and former player Vasek Pospisil and Nick Kyrgios, but is “certainly very involved”, PTPA executive director Ahmad Nassar has said. Alcaraz is not among the dozen.
It wants more prize money, which it says is suppressed by collusion between the tours and tournament organisers, and a shorter season to replace the “unsustainable” current 11-month calendar.
The PTPA also takes issue with the methods employed by the ITIA, including “invasive searches of personal devices and random middle-of-the-night drug tests”.
It says it has brought the legal action in the US, EU and UK after becoming frustrated with attempts to achieve change through talks.
The tours have vowed to defend themselves, with the ATP calling the action “entirely without merit” and the WTA labelling it “both regrettable and misguided”.