Players' group nears deal with Tennis Australia in lawsuit over pay, schedule

BENGALURU :A global players' advocacy group co-founded by Novak Djokovic said on Wednesday it was close to settling with Tennis Australia in its case accusing some governing bodies of being a "cartel" that underpays and imposes an unsustainable schedule.

The Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA) filed a class-action lawsuit in March saying the ATP, WTA, International Tennis Federation and International Tennis Integrity Agency had indulged in anti-competitive practices and showed disregard for player welfare.

Organisers of the four Grand Slam events, including the Australian Open, were added to the case in September.

The men's ATP Tour has previously said it believed the case was without merit while the women's WTA Tour defended its record of growing women's tennis and said the lawsuit was "baseless".

On Wednesday, lawyers for the PTPA, co-founded in 2020 by Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, filed a letter to the U.S. Southern District Court in New York saying there had been fruitful talks with the organisers of the Australian Open.

"Plaintiffs and Tennis Australia are engaged in substantive and productive bilateral settlement discussions and believe that a settlement as to plaintiffs' claims against Tennis Australia is likely in the near future," the PTPA's lawyers wrote, saying both parties wanted to halt proceedings while they reach a deal.

The letter added the stay request would apply only to Tennis Australia, not the other defendants.

Tennis Australia confirmed the development.

"If the New York court approves a settlement between the parties, Tennis Australia will exit the litigation," it said.

COMPLAINTS IN LAWSUIT

Neither party gave any details of what a potential deal may entail.

In its lawsuit, the PTPA accuses the