Players file suits vs. ATP, WTA: ‘Tennis is broken’

The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) and 22 players filed multiple lawsuits across several global jurisdictions against the ATP, WTA, International Tennis Federation (ITF) and International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on Tuesday, alleging anticompetitive business practices, monopolizing of professional tennis and systemic abuse.

“Tennis is broken,” Ahmad Nassar, the executive director of the PTPA, said in a statement. “Behind the glamorous veneer that the defendants promote, players are trapped in an unfair system that exploits their talent, suppresses their earnings, and jeopardizes their health and safety.”

Legal action was taken in the United Kingdom, European Union and United States district court.

Twelve players — including PTPA co-founder and 2014 Wimbledon doubles champion Vasek Pospisil, 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios, four-time ATP Tour champion Reilly Opelka and two-time major quarterfinalist Sorana Cirstea — are named as plaintiffs in the U.S. filing. An additional 10 players — including American doubles specialist Christian Harrison, four-time WTA doubles champion Ingrid Neel and current world No. 76 Corentin Moutet — are involved with the two other suits.

Pospisil, who started the PTPA in 2020 alongside 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic, said the organization’s leadership began talking about such action last year, having sensed that the sport’s governing bodies were not taking player grievances seriously or responding to them fairly.

“At some point we just felt as if we didn’t have another option,” Pospisil told ESPN on Friday. “We didn’t set out to create a player association to not affect major change. That’s always been the goal from the beginning, and we have to really consider all strategies and avenues to eventually accomplish that goal.”

In the 162-page complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, a draft of which was obtained by ESPN, the PTPA and associated players accuse the ATP, WTA, ITF and ITIA of working together as a “cartel” and colluding with one another — and in some cases with sanctioned tournaments — to reduce competition and fix prize money.

Additionally, the suit claims the organizations suppress player income by not allowing requests for increased prize money by some tournament owners, and through forced name, image and likeness (NIL) deals and a lower percentage of revenue sharing compared to other professional sports. Privacy rights violations, specifically related to drug testing, and a disregard for player well-being due to the lengthy duration of the season and inadequate match and tournament conditions are also alleged.

The civil complaint demands a jury trial.

Pospisil, in a statement Tuesday, insisted the suit was “not just about the money,” but instead about “fairness, safety and basic human dignity.”

“I’m one of the more fortunate players and I’ve still had to sleep in my car when traveling to matches early on in my career — imagine an NFL player being told that he had to sleep in his car at an away game,” Pospisil said. “It’s absurd and would never happen, obviously. No other major sport treats its athletes this way.”

Nassar, who previously worked with the NFL Players Association, said the PTPA initially hired the law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP — who have represented various player associations in litigation against professional leagues in recent years — to review the sport, using publicly available financial documents and information provided by players, to determine if there was a legal course of action.

The PTPA then met with over 250 players to discuss the findings and next steps. According to Nassar and Pospisil, the overwhelming majority were in favor of filing legal claims. Pospisil, who said he spoke to more than 100 players individually by phone, said he personally tried to recruit players to join the lawsuits as plaintiffs — something that was considerably harder than simply earning support.

“The main concern was, ‘What will the repercussions be for this, especially from the ATP and the WTA?'” Pospisil said. “Many didn’t want to put their name out there and wanted to err on the side of caution.”

The ATP, WTA, ITF and ITIA have yet to comment publicly.

Nassar said the PTPA hopes such legal actions will result in a revamped and optimized schedule, with more money for players through commercialization and higher revenue sharing, as well as an increased emphasis on player concerns.