"So Novak Djokovic wins Wimbledon to buy ball machines used in UK?" - Tennis insider questions exclusion of Grand Slams in PTPA lawsuit
Tennis insider Jon Wertheim recently questioned the Novak Djokovic-led PTPA's controversial lawsuit over its exclusion of the four Grand Slams on its list of defendants. The lawsuit has polarized the tennis world, despite the PTPA repeatedly claiming that the intention was to make the sport fairer, more transparent, and more profitable for players.
In a recent discussion with former No. 1 and 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick on the American's 'Served' podcast, Wertheim opined that the lawsuit would have held more weight had the Majors been specifically named. The insider also suggested that Djokovic's name should have been among the list of plaintiffs, considering the Serb's stature and influence within and beyond tennis.
"The Slams are not individually mentioned (in the PTPA lawsuit), which is really weird. If you were trying to get attention for your lawsuit, the first thing you do is have the number one player in the world, the greatest of all time, who co-founded the organization lodging the lawsuit, you might want to put his name on the list of plaintiffs if at all possible," Wertheim said (at 1:25:37).
The insider also questioned the inclusion of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in the lawsuit as a defendant, suggesting that the global governing body may not have complete jurisdiction over the four Grand Slams.
He went on to bring up Novak Djokovic's Wimbledon triumphs as well, wondering whether they have contributed in any way to improving grassroots tennis in the UK. This particular take stemmed from the Majors being not-for-profit organizations claiming they are dedicated to improving the sport.
"If you can't get him, you know what you also might want to do? People read this and their eyes glaze over ITIA and ATP and these alphabets. Wouldn't you want to put French Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open, US Open? Wouldn't you want to name the Majors individually? I tweet that out and a mod responded, "Well, we have the ITF". I'm not sure the ITF has jurisdiction here over the Majors. I'm not sure the ITF covers all the Majors for this particular point," he added.
"And I think you're absolutely right. The fact that the Majors contribute nothing, the fact that the Majors' response is, "Oh! We're non-profits, we pour this back into the game." So Novak Djokovic wins Wimbledon in order to buy ball machines used in the UK? I'm not sure that's a great deal," Wertheim concluded.
Since the news of the lawsuit was made public, some high-profile players have been asked to chime in with their opinions on the controversy. Young ATP stars Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Draper were among them, and both voiced their objection to the lawsuit.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Draper oppose Novak Djokovic-led PTPA's lawsuit against sport's governing bodies
The lawsuit cited a remark made by former No. 1 and four-time Major winner Carlos Alcaraz last year. The remark was about the hectic nature of the tennis calendar, with the Spaniard saying that it could potentially "kill" players in the long run. However, at a press conference ahead of his 2025 Miami Open campaign, Alcaraz denied having any knowledge of the lawsuit beforehand.
While the Spaniard expressed his agreement with certain aspects of the lawsuit, he also stated that he wasn't in agreement with the others. Overall, Alcaraz refused to extend his support to the lawsuit. Meanwhile, British star Jack Draper came out in support of the ATP when he was asked about the Novak Djokovic-led PTPA's lawsuit.
Bizarrely, even though Djokovic co-founded the PTPA and is the most prominent name in the organization's ranks, he has said that he doesn't agree with the entirety of the lawsuit.