Novak Djokovic has claimed that there is a monopoly in tennis and some media outlets purposely choose not to cover this subject as it is ‘not in the interest’ of their owners.
The world No.1 made the comments during a recent interview with Sportal where he has vowed to continue speaking up for the rights of his peers. Djokovic is the co-founder of the Professional Tennis Player’s Association (PTPA). An independent organization that campaigns for players to have a greater say in the decision-making process. He had previously served as president of the ATP Player’s Council but quit that role to form the PTPA along with Vasek Pospisil.
Djokovic and his supporters argue that an independent body is needed to challenge the governing bodies of tennis when it comes to how the sport is managed. On the other hand, the ATP argues that such an organization is not needed as they already have a player council and CEO Andrea Gaudenzi said it causes more fragmentation in the sport.
Gaudenzi’s comment has failed to change the view of 24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic who believes tennis is one of many sports to have a ‘monopoly’ system. A term used to describe those that have exclusive control of a certain service. Furthermore, the tennis star has made a bold statement that some journalists know about this monopoly but deliberately chose not to report on it. Djokovic hasn’t provided any names of the news outlets he is referring to.
“There is currently a monopoly in tennis, as well as in other major global sports at that level, but I can only speak when it comes to tennis,” he stated.
“Many media, also, who are in tennis choose not to write about this topic because it is not in the interest of those who pay them.
“It’s a vicious game and a vicious circle, but as long as I have a voice to be heard, I will use it.”
As for the PTPA’s impact on the sport so far, Djokovic believes they have been able to influence the ATP to reconsider some of their policies. Even though the two are not working together at present. In recent months the ATP have made increases to their prize money and last year announced that there will be a 50-50 share in profit between players and tournaments from this season onwards.
“At the PTPA, we have already managed to say, indirectly as well as directly, to force the ATP to reconsider some decisions,” Djokovic commented.
“Directly a little less because they don’t allow us to enter the system and be part of the decision-making table, to have direct participation in the system, but indirectly we solved many things in a positive way and provoked.
“Here is the latter, where the ATP has increased the sums of money for players who are injured and absent from the Tour. They are now guaranteed a certain amount of money. They took that step forward, which I welcome, of course.
“Is that step enough? It’s not, but I welcome it and I’m almost sure they did it because the PTPA and all the players support these initiatives and constantly communicate on that topic, they say how important it is to address it in the right way and to talk about things that are, as you might call it, taboo the theme.
“We constantly talk about how much a Grand Slam champion or number one in the world earns, and we don’t talk about how many players can make a living from the sport they play. It’s a switch of theses, and I’ll just continue to point out some things that are obvious and present that they don’t want to address.”
There is also the issue of Grand Slam events which all operate separately to the ATP and WTA. The four tournaments are the pinnacle events of tennis which generate millions. According to Forbes, the 2022 US Open had a revenue of more than $472M and Wimbledon’s that same year was $440m based on information from their financial documents.
In a recent interview with UbiTennis, PTPA’s CEO Ahmad Nassar points out that if a possible merger happens between the ATP and WTA, it will still not address issues with major events.
“At the end of the day, the Grand Slams still command the most revenue, attention, and influence. If fragmentation is the tours’ concern, consolidating into one stronger, more unified product is a first step, but certainly not a final solution to maximizing tennis’ earning power, relevance and longevity.” Said Nassar.
The PTPA continues to campaign for a place in the sport. Earlier this week they published a 17-page ‘white paper‘ on the benefits of having an independent player body. However, there is still work to be done if they wish to form a partnership with either the ATP or WTA.
