The Professional Tennis Players Association was born in 2020, thanks to Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, after years of frustration over who really had the players’ backs. Their gripe? Existing bodies often had to juggle player interests and tournament demands, leaving athletes feeling underrepresented. Fast forward to March 2025, and the PTPA didn’t hold back, branding tennis’s biggest governing bodies a “cartel” that suppresses wages, blocks rival tournaments, and stifles opportunities “to the harm of players and fans alike.” Since then, their fight has only gotten louder. And now, their attention has shifted to the US Open’s latest headline-grabber.
When the US Open revealed a record-breaking $90 million prize money pool this season, it looked like a moment to celebrate. The bump was huge, a 20 percent jump from last year, cementing the event as the richest purse in tennis. Even better, the increase trickled down to every tier, from first-round exits to champions. With equal pay already in place, both men and women will take home the same rewards for identical results.
But not everyone is popping champagne. The PTPA took to X to say that bigger prize money “does not fix a broken system.” They weren’t vague about what still needs fixing. “A relentless, year-round schedule that pushes players to the brink, An opaque, inconsistent anti-doping program, A lack of player benefits and stagnant prize money across most tour-level events and A disregard for player voices on matters directly impacting their livelihoods,” they wrote. The statement ended with, “Piecemeal solutions are not enough. As our legal work continues, the PTPA continues fighting for the holistic solutions that players, fans, and the sport deserve.”
Yes, the US Open’s $90M prize purse – a 20% increase from last year and the largest in tennis history – is a win for players. But one big payday does not fix a broken system.
If players, fans, and the sport are going to thrive in the long-term, prize money increases must be…
— Professional Tennis Players Association (@ptpaplayers) August 11, 2025
That schedule complaint is a familiar one. Top players like Taylor Fritz and Carlos Alcaraz have recently raised their voice against the grind of the tour. It became prominent earlier this summer when the Canadian Open, the tournament just a week after Wimbledon, saw a wave of withdrawals. Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Jack Draper, Aryna Sabalenka, and various others had to skip the event because of exhaustion or injury.
The anti-doping issue has been equally tense. Last year, Sinner and Iga Swiatek both tested positive for doping and had to serve bans: three months for Sinner, one month for Swiatek. Other players have called out the system’s inconsistencies. Nicolas Jarry, for example, faced a similar case but was sidelined for 11 months, later calling the process “unfair.” Djokovic himself had called for an overhaul of the “unjust” system and said, “A majority of the players don’t feel that [the process is] fair. A majority of the players feel like there is favouritism happening. It appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player, if you have access to the top lawyers and whatnot.”
While the PTPA continues to fight legally against the organizations for these reasons, surprisingly, Novak Djokovic was not named as a plaintiff in the case. He had also stated publicly that there were some parts of the case that he did not agree with. However, that has not stopped the PTPA from pressing ahead.
Novak Djokovic-led PTPA makes progress in its legal challenge
The PTPA has scored some early wins. The BBC reported that they were partly successful in challenging the ATP in court. The association argued the ATP had tried to push players into signing statements claiming they didn’t know about the PTPA’s wider legal action filed in March. They asked the court to block the ATP from using “improper, coercive or threatening communications” with players about the matter.
Judge Margaret Garnett in New York agreed there was a problem. She wrote that the ATP’s “conduct to date, regardless of intent, could readily have been viewed as potentially coercive, deceptive or otherwise abusive.” Evidence showed an ATP official had approached at least two players, Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton, about the issue. The court noted that players are “vulnerable to economic coercion” because the tournaments they rely on are “nearly exclusively organised” by the tour.
This specific ruling targeted only the ATP. But the PTPA’s wider lawsuit still names the WTA Tour, the International Tennis Federation, and the International Tennis Integrity Agency, accusing them of “anti-competitive practices and a blatant disregard for player welfare.”
The fight isn’t over yet. The PTPA may have landed a small win, but the bigger battle is still to come.
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