"If that's not a red flag I don't know what is" - Novak Djokovic-led PTPA co-founder Vasek Pospisil questions ATP's 'wearables' approval
The Novak Djokovic-led PTPA's co-founder Vasek Pospisil has expressed his concerns over the ATP's approval for players to use in-competition wearables across ATP Tour and Challenger level matches from Monday, July 15. Pospisil has raised doubts about the decision, particularly because the data from the wearables will be collected and stored by the ATP as a part of its Tennis IQ performance analytics program.
Djokovic and Pospisil co-founded the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) in 2019, with the aim of representing the interests of the top 500 ATP and the top 200 WTA players. Over the years, the organization has made it a priority to resolve issues plaguing players across both ATP and WTA tours, where player autonomy is, more often than not, restricted.
On Thursday, June 27, the ATP announced that it had approved in-competition wearables produced by sports technology brands Catapult and STATSports for use by players across ATP Tour and Challenger levels from mid-July. The wearables will collect insights and aggregate them in 'ATP Tennis IQ - Wearables', a player-facing dashboard.
Pospisil took to X (formerly Twitter) after taking notice of the significant development, and asked three very pertinent questions related to it:
"1.Why can’t we use our own devices and keep our data for private use only?"
"2. Tennis players are supposedly “independent contractors”. Why then is it mandatory that all of the data be centralized in Tennis IQ? Will it be or is it already connected to the ATP and ATP Media’s joint venture with TDI? (TDI commercializes data in tennis “including betting, media, and performance”.) Is that the end goal?"
"3.If our personal data collected by the ATP is eventually monetized, what will the players be getting for this? This data will have tremendous future value."
The Canadian went on to label the development as a 'red flag', citing concerns over ATP's apparent intent to assume control over players' performance insights.
"ATP-provided wearables are now permitted (at a cost to the player) but only if the ATP gets to collect, centralize, and essentially own our data. Don’t want to jump to conclusions but If that’s not a red flag I don’t know what is. Perhaps answers to these questions will be provided soon," Pospisil wrote.
"Making my tournament schedule around the types of balls being used" - Novak Djokovic-led PTPA co-founder Vasek Pospisil's jibe at ATP in 2023
During the 2023 season, several high-profile players, including Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Stan Wawrinka, bemoaned the changes in balls from one tournament to the next. According to them, the inconsistencies in ball use were making players more prone to injuries.
In December 2023, Pospisil took a sarcastic swipe at the ATP over the issue. According to the former World No. 25, he was having to chalk out his plan for the 2024 season on the basis of the types of balls to be used across various tournaments, instead of "geographical location and court surface".
"First time in my career making my tournament schedule around the types of balls being used rather than geographical location and court surface," Pospisil wrote on X.
Pospisil himself, despite still being an active tennis player, mostly plays ATP Challenger-level tournaments these days. His last outing came at the Morelos Open in April, where he had reached the quarterfinals. Djokovic, meanwhile, is preparing to start his 2024 Wimbledon campaign. The seven-time SW19 winner is slated to face qualifier Vit Kopriva in his first match at this year's Wimbledon on Monday, July 1.