Novak Djokovic has admitted he disagrees with parts of the lawsuit brought against tennis’ governing bodies by the player organisation he co-founded.
The Professional Tennis Players Association announced earlier this week that it was taking legal action against the ATP, WTA, International Tennis Federation and International Tennis Integrity Agency, accusing the organisations of “systemic abuse, anti-competitive practices, and a blatant disregard for player welfare”.
The PTPA was launched four years ago by Djokovic and Canadian Vasek Pospisil, and its statement on Tuesday said the action was being taken on behalf of all professional players.
Tennis has lost its way. Players and fans have been left behind. And after years of inaction by the powers at large, players and the PTPA were left with no choice but to pursue legal actions to force real change.
Read more: https://t.co/DUXNqPNIVT pic.twitter.com/ZsX8eu3Wrj
— Professional Tennis Players Association (@ptpaplayers) March 20, 2025
Djokovic’s name was notably absent among the plaintiffs for the US suit, though, and he told reporters at the Miami Open that he was not entirely in agreement with what had been filed.
“I felt like I don’t need to sign the letter because I want other players to step up,” said the Serbian.
“This is a classic lawsuit, so lawyers to lawyers, type of situation. So, to be quite frank with you, there are things that I agree with in the lawsuit and then there are also things that I don’t agree with.
“And I found that maybe some wording was quite strong in there, but I guess the legal team knows what they are doing and what kind of terminology they’re supposed to use in order to get the right effect.”
What an incredible atmosphere ????????Fonseca and Tien are amazing talents! Tennis isn’t broken after all ????
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) March 21, 2025
The ATP and WTA both hit back strongly at the PTPA’s allegations, while Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz was explicit in stating that he did not support the legal action.
Djokovic insisted he was not trying to cause rifts, saying: “I’ve never been a fan of division in our sport but I’ve always fought for better representation and influence of and positioning of the players globally in our sport, which I think is still not where I think it should be.”
Andy Murray, who is in Florida coaching the Serbian, appeared to reference the drama in a message on social media site X after watching young stars Joao Fonseca and Learner Tien battle it out.
“What an incredible atmosphere Fonseca and Tien are amazing talents! Tennis isn’t broken after all,” wrote the Scot, ending with a winking emoji.
