Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal & Andy Murray re-elected to the ATP Player Council
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, winners of a combined 43 Grand Slam titles, have been elected to the ATP Player Council once again. They will now operate - along with nine other members - as the official representatives of ATP players for the next year and a half.
Below is the list of the members elected to the ATP Player Council through June 2022:
- From 1-50 in singles: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Roger Federer, John Millman, Rafael Nadal
- From 51-100 in singles: Pablo Andujar, Gilles Simon
- From 1-100 in doubles: Marcus Daniell, Bruno Soares
- Members at large: Kevin Anderson, Andy Murray
- Alumni Representative: Colin Dowdeswell
- Coach Representative: Daniel Vallverdu
Pablo Andujar and Marcus Daniell have been elected to the Council for the first time, but Gilles Simon has been a member in the past. All the other players elected were already part of the previous Council, whose term had expired recently.
The President and the Vice President of the ATP Player Council will be elected at the first meeting of the new Council in 2021.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic had withdrawn his nomination from the Council elections due to the a change in rules by the ATP. Djokovic claimed the new rule prevented him - or any other player who was part of a parallel association - from being part of the ATP Player Council.
Canada's Vasek Pospisil, who co-led the launch of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) along with Djokovic, also withdrew his name from the elections on the same grounds.
Both Djokovic and Pospisl had resigned from the Council in August after forming the PTPA.
Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal had expressed support for the ATP Player Council at the time of the launch of the PTPA
When the PTPA was launched back in August, both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had posted messages on social media expressing their endorsement of the ATP Player Council.
"The world is living a difficult and complicated situation. I personally believe these are times to be calm and work all of us together in the same direction. It is time for unity, not for separation," Rafael Nadal had tweeted.
"These are moments where big things can be achieved as long as the world of tennis is united," he had added. "We all, players, tournaments and governing bodies have to work together. We have a bigger problem and separation and disunion is definitely not the solution."
Roger Federer had quote-tweeted Nadal's message to show his solidarity with the Council as well.
"I agree @RafaelNadal. These are uncertain and challenging times, but I believe it’s critical for us to stand united as players, and as a sport, to pave the best way forward," Federer had tweeted at the time.
Given their recent history and their opposition to the PTPA, it is no surprise that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal remain committed to serving on the ATP Player Council. Now it remains to be seen how they manage any potential conflicts with the third member of the Big 3 - Novak Djokovic - over the coming year and a half.