Djokovic Ditches the Players' Union He Founded

Novak Djokovic is cutting formal ties with the players' group he helped create just five years ago. The 24-time Grand Slam champion announced Sunday that he is fully stepping away from the Professional Tennis Players Association, saying he has "ongoing concerns regarding transparency, governance, and the way my voice and image have been represented," per the New York Times. Djokovic, who co-founded the PTPA with Canadian player Vasek Pospisil in 2020 to give players an independent voice, said the organization's current direction no longer matches his "values and approach."

The PTPA, led by executive director Ahmad Nassar, responded with a statement defending its governance and suggesting Djokovic's exit may be tied to what it called a coordinated campaign to spread "inaccurate and misleading narratives" about the group. The association said players formed the PTPA to secure a stronger, more open say in tennis and noted it is pursuing legal action against the sport's power structure to push for reforms in governance, transparency, and player rights. It claims the group and its staff have been targeted with defamation and witness intimidation and says a federal court has already ordered some of that conduct to stop.

Djokovic's departure comes as the PTPA presses its most aggressive initiative yet: an antitrust lawsuit filed in March against the ATP and WTA Tours, later expanded to include the four Grand Slams. The suit accuses the tours and majors of operating as a "cartel" that suppresses player opportunities, prize money, and welfare—an allegation the ATP and WTA reject as meritless, per the BBC. Djokovic is not a plaintiff and has publicly distanced himself from parts of the case, even as he remains one of the sport's loudest voices for a bigger share of tennis revenues for players. His break with the PTPA is widely seen as a significant boost for the tours and Grand Slams in their struggle with the upstart players' organization, per the Times.