"There is a facade of collaboration, a big, big fake thing" - Vasek Pospisil hints at discontent between ATP and players amid raging ball controversy
Vasek Pospisil has opened up about a growing discontent between the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) and players over the inconsistent usage of balls on tour, stating that about 50% of his colleagues have one injury or the other because of them.
The ATP has come under criticism from several players this season for using different balls in different tournaments, with even big stars like Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz chiming in.
Speaking to the press after Canada's exit from the Davis Cup Finals, Pospisil, who co-founded the PTPA (Professional Tennis Players Association) with Djokovic, echoed a similar sentiment.
The 33-year-old started by saying that the ATP doesn't have the main interests of the fans at heart, seeing as fans want variety in action while the ATP wants to prolong rallies -- the main reason for so many injuries, according to the Canadian.
"First of all, nobody wants to see a 60-ball rally every point. They like variety. So that failed. The next thing is, one out of two players, 50% of players seem to have wrist, elbow, shoulder issues in the locker room. Then recently people started to tweet about it. Now there is a bit of talk, and they're, Oh, yeah, we are addressing it, addressing it," Pospisil said.
"Players don't talk about it openly. They are in the locker room. Everyone has got -- he has wrist pain. I mean, how many wrist surgeries have we seen this year? Guy popped his elbow -- I mean, yeah, I can name several players," he added.
Despite the ATP having a players' council, Vasek Pospisil asserted that the collaboration between the organization and the players is only a facade and that the complaints of the players fall on deaf ears for the most part.
For this very reason, the former World No. 25 is glad about the existence of the PTPA, as it adds pressure on the ATP to actually address these issues unlike what would have been the case years ago.
"Obviously I think players bring a lot of value to this business, and that hasn't been the case. I mean, I have seen it. I have been on the council. I know exactly how things go. I think when we get to a place where players, you know, are able to impact decisions like this, that impacts their health, including the length of the season and, you know, whatever -- it would just be nice to have more collaboration," Pospisil said.
"There is a facade of collaboration. There is a, you know, a big, big fake thing, but the reality is there's not. Obviously now there is a lot of pressure because of player association, because it's being spoken about a lot more. So there is some movement there in the right direction," he added.
Vasek Pospisil: "Players can complain, complain, complain; at the end of the day they don't really have that much say in this sport"
Vasek Pospisil further lamented about how helpless players are in front of the ATP, remarking that they could keep on complaining all they wanted, only to be left without any say at the end of the day in the sport they dedicated their lives to.
At the same time, Pospisil was not without hope, admitting that things are changing for the better -- not because of the ATP, but rather in spite of the organization's poor quality behind the scenes.
"I mean, it's been a big problem, and I feel quite a bit of resentment, honestly... Players can complain, complain, complain. At the end of the day they don't really have that much say in this sport, unfortunately," Vasek Pospisil said.
"But it's changing. It's changing quickly. I think when it does, this sport will be a lot better. I think it will grow organically the way it should be growing, because it has so much potential. It's the third-most-watched sport in the world, second-most bet-on sport in the world, and it's falling behind the other sports. It's not because of the quality of the product. It's because of the quality of the organization running the sport," he added.