“Players are getting crumbles or nothing almost” – Novak Djokovic calls for fair share for players from betting data profits
Novak Djokovic has demanded tennis players be given a fair share of the profits from betting data deals. As the founder of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), Djokovic regularly brings to notice the issues affecting tennis players.
As per reports, the ATP recently signed a six-year deal with Sportradar as its official gambling data partner. It is learned that the ATP will allow Sportradar to use and share players' data with online bookmakers.
The PTPA has released a video on social media in which the Serb can be heard voicing concerns over the disparity in the allocation ratio from official betting profits. He argued that the betting houses are earning big money and sharing the gains with entities present in the tennis ecosystem.
"Betting is officialized. It is happening and the betting houses are earning hundreds of millions of dollars, maybe billions from tennis. So, there’s huge value there. And then a lot of interested sides in the tennis ecosystem are also benefitting from that through that data deal. But the players are getting a shorter end of the stick and are getting literally crumbles or nothing almost," he said.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion mentioned that the ATP has swayed away from the core of the discussion whenever this issue has been raised and questioned the responsibility of a player to uphold tennis' integrity. He continued:
"Being in the player council of ATP for, you know, almost a decade, whenever we would address this subject – what would normally surface in the discussion is the integrity, right? Like, we've got to fight to make sure that our sports stays clean.
"We've got to make sure that the players are not cheating and are not betting, they’re not compromising the tournaments, etc. Of course, I support it, but there’s kind of a psychological game right, you focus on that and you don’t really talk about the main issue here that we players need to be aware of.
Novak Djokovic - "Players don't have 100 percent representation in the tennis world"
Earlier this year, Novak Djokovic had hoped to see increased participation from his colleagues in the fight to have a significant say in the affairs of the ATP and WTA. He urged other players to join the PTPA as the established governing bodies are the spokespersons for not only the players but also the tournaments.
"It needs to be there because players don't have 100 percent representation in the tennis world, unfortunately. With the association they have that. Hopefully more players will be showing the willingness to understand what PTPA can do for them," he said in January.
Djokovic founded the PTPA in 2019 in collaboration with Canada's Vasek Pospisil. Over the years, the association has roped in the likes of Paula Badosa, Ons Jabeur, Hubert Hurkacz, John Isner, Sania Mirza, and Kim Clijsters among others.