The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), established by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil in 2019, filed a controversial antitrust lawsuit against tennis’s governing bodies in March 2025. The case targeted the ATP, WTA, International Tennis Federation, and International Tennis Integrity Agency, claiming monopolistic practices harmed player earnings and welfare. However, Djokovic himself did not sign the legal action, creating immediate confusion about the organization’s direction.
In January 2026, the situation reached a turning point when Djokovic announced he was stepping away entirely from the PTPA, citing concerns about transparency and governance.
Formation of PTPA by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil and the Lawsuit Against ATP, WTA, ITF, ITIA
The concept for the PTPA began in 2019 when Djokovic and Pospisil identified seeming problems with how the ATP protected player interests. They claimed that the ATP’s structure created inherent conflicts of interest, as it represented both the players and the tournaments simultaneously. This dual role meant the organization sometimes made decisions that favored tournaments over athletes’ well-being, according to the players.
After spending 2020 building support for their vision, Djokovic and Pospisil formally established the PTPA as a non-profit organization in Canada in 2021. The stated mission was to create transparency in professional tennis and give players an independent voice, separate from existing governing bodies.
MORE: Andy Roddick Finds Major Fault in Novak Djokovic’s PTPA
By March 2025, the PTPA felt that reform efforts through traditional channels had stalled. On March 18, the organization filed a landmark antitrust lawsuit against the ATP, WTA, International Tennis Federation, and International Tennis Integrity Agency. The legal action was filed simultaneously in New York, London, and Brussels to demonstrate the scope of the dispute.
According to the PTPA, the lawsuit had the backing of over 250 professional players from both the men’s and women’s tours. The complaint named 12 players as plaintiffs, including co-founder Vasek Pospisil, Australian Nick Kyrgios, Romanian Sorana Cirstea, American Reilly Opelka, and Chinese player Zheng Saisai, but then British Jay Clarke withdrew his name.
The 163-page filing alleged that tennis’s governing bodies ran a ‘cartel,’ engaging in monopolistic practices that limited prize money, imposed harsh ranking point requirements, and forced players into unsustainable schedules with minimal recovery time.
Fan Backlash and Djokovic’s Exit Following Disagreement
Djokovic surprised the tennis world by declining to sign his name to the lawsuit despite co-founding the organization. Three days after the filing, on March 20 at the Miami Open, he publicly stated his position: “There are things that I agree with in the lawsuit, and there are also things that I don’t agree with.” Djokovic found certain wording “quite strong” while characterizing the case as a “typical lawsuit, lawyers-to-lawyers situation.”
This public disagreement bewildered PTPA co-founder Vasek Pospisil, who later admitted in court testimony that he was “surprised” by Djokovic’s comments and noted they “were not in line with our previous conversations.”
The lawsuit also drew criticism from a major player. Carlos Alcaraz stated he was caught off guard by the legal action and had not been informed beforehand. More problematically, his own statements from a previous press conference had been included in the lawsuit without his permission. Alcaraz stated clearly, “I do not endorse that letter since I was not informed.” Fans reacted harshly to the situation, questioning the PTPA’s credibility and management of the initiative.
Players such as Coco Gauff and Iga Świątek similarly indicated they were not given any prior intimation about the sudden lawsuit. Other players, including Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune, were controversially mentioned in the class action, which resulted in further backlash.
On January 4, 2026, nearly one year after the lawsuit filing, Djokovic announced his final decision on X: he was stepping away from the PTPA entirely, citing that his values and approach are no longer aligned with the current direction of the organization.
