Players file suits vs. ATP, WTA, more, cite 'unfair system' - ESPN

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