In December, a Pubity Sport stat revealed tennis players receive a mere 17.5% of revenue, prompting Nick Kyrgios to lament on his IG story, “ONLY SPORT THAT ARENT EMPLOYEES. PLEASE HELP. @ptpaplayers.” Fast forward to March 2025, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), led by Novak Djokovic, seemingly answered this call with a bombshell lawsuit. Twenty-two players took legal action against the ATP, WTA, ITF, and ITIA, accusing them of operating a monopoly. Now, with the ATP CEO’s exit and the lawsuit heating up, what does Kyrgios have to say now?
To catch you up, on March 18, the PTPA, along with 22 players including Novak Djokovic, Nick Kyrgios, and Reilly Opelka, took a bold step and dropped a lawsuit against tennis’ governing bodies. They targeted the ATP, WTA, ITF, and ITIA, accusing them of running the sport like a monopoly. Led by Djokovic and Ahmad Nassar, the executive director of the organization, the PTPA argues these organizations trap players in an unfair system, exploiting them, underpaying them, and putting their health at risk.
Fast forward to April, ATP CEO Massimo Calvelli announced he will step down at the end of June 2025. This move sparked chatter, especially when Kyrgios appeared on The Changeover podcast on May 17. He said, “Yeah, because the PTPA is suing the ATP. and then he’s like, ‘okay, I need to resign now’ What are you resigning for?”
Calvelli, who took the helm in January 2020, guided the ATP through the pandemic and helped roll out OneVision, the ATP’s long-term plan. Though he didn’t give a clear reason for stepping down, he called his time a privilege and said he’s eager to see how the ATP moves forward. When asked what he thought was behind the resignation, Kyrgios didn’t hold back: “Because the ATP is f***** bro.” What does he mean?
Well, Kyrgios and the PTPA’s lawsuit highlight how the sport fails lower-ranked players. “Because people 200 in the world can’t even make a living, because they’re not getting paid. We’re not getting paid, right? Any other sport, you’re 100 in the world, you should be in Bahamas, smoking a joint. You should be chilling bro. And you don’t even break even,” he said.
March 21, 2025, Miami Gardens, Florida, United States Of America: MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – MARCH 21: Karen Kachanov of Russia defeats Nick Kyrgios of Australia in the second round of the men s singles in the Miami Open at the Hard Rock Stadium on March 21, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida….People: Nick Kyrgios Miami Gardens United States Of America – ZUMAs214 20250321_ada_s214_301 Copyright: xSMGx
Despite Calvelli’s efforts, including a historic $100 million rise in player compensation since 2019 and record commercial growth, Kyrgios thinks the lawsuit could shake things up. The case is still ongoing with no clear end in sight, but the Aussie is optimistic.
He said, “Yeah, it’s going to be big time. The next couple, the next six month is huge. It’s huge. All I wanted from the PTPA is everyone to get the same treatment and people get paid what they’re supposed to get paid from top to bottom. How can you have people 300 in the world not making any money? It doesnt’ make any sense, bro. Doesn’t make any sense at all.”
However, the ATP hasn’t hesitated in pushing back against the PTPA lawsuit. In a firm statement, they said, “We strongly reject the premise of the PTPA’s claims, believe the case to be entirely without merit, and will vigorously defend our position,” making it clear they’re ready for a fight. They also stressed their ongoing commitment to reforms that help players at all levels, like boosting prize money and financial support programs.
ATP announces a big boost in prize money for the 2025 season
On ATP’s official Instagram, chairman Andrea Gaudenzi shared some key news about player pay for 2025. “It’s a total of around, in 2025, $260 million of player compensation coming from the tour.” So, that’s the big number. But is it a real jump? According to the ATP, yes-it’s up “$100 million from 2019 levels,” the agency posted on May 16.
That’s a 7.61 percent increase compared to last year. When ATP revealed its 2024 compensation figure in October, it stood at $241.6 million. This money was “distributed to players across the ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour through On-Site Prize Money, Performance Bonus Pools, and Player Retirement Plan contributions,” ATP’s website explained.
In a longer YouTube video, Gaudenzi broke down how prize money levels get set. “The prize money level in our tournaments get decided by the board. And just to be clear, those are the minimum levels. So we define the minimum levels but the tournaments are absolutely free to increase those levels and to go as high they wish.”
So what’s the board’s exact role? Gaudenzi said, “to define the distribution. So a tournament could increase prize money, but it’s still a decision of the board how that money gets distributed.” The lawsuit’s still playing out, but with moves like this, could change be on the horizon? We’ll have to wait and see if Kyrgios’ bold claims come true in the months ahead! What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
The post “ATP Is F***** Bro”- Nick Kyrgios Drops Truthbombs for Novak Djokovic Led Lawsuit After CEO Resigns appeared first on EssentiallySports.