"They only talk about the women if they’re pushed, that’s not good enough" - Billie Jean King on Novak Djokovic-led PTPA
Billie Jean King, the pioneer of the WTA Tour, recently opined that the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), co-founded by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, needs to be more proactive in its approach towards female tennis players.
Last year, Djokovic, Pospisil and 60-odd ATP players announced the launch of the PTPA on the eve of the US Open in a move that caught tennis' governing bodies by surprise. The PTPA was criticized for not including women from the outset.
Since then, the PTPA and Djokovic have repeatedly clarified that they have been talking to the WTA players and that they intend to represent players on both tours. However, it appears as though their efforts are focused on the ATP Tour, something that Billie Jean King is not happy about.
In an in-depth interview with The New Yorker, King, who is considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the sport, was asked about her thoughts on the PTPA and how they went about the process of starting the new association.
"They never talked to me, so I don’t know what the thinking is. When I was at Wimbledon, I kept asking people, but nobody seems to know anything. They’ve definitely improved their Web site—they’ve got politically correct language now," King said.
"They only talk about the women if they’re pushed, though. That’s not good enough. They’ve got heavy hitters, they’ve got money—Novak Djokovic is definitely going to be the best ever, which is really important. But I don’t know how much people want to follow him."
When asked what advice she would have given to the PTPA, King said it would have been to do more of their work behind the scenes.
"I would’ve just continued behind the scenes," she added.
Novak Djokovic to return at the US Open
While several of the world's best players will be in Cincinnati to compete in the Western & Southern Open this week, top-ranked Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the tournament.
The Serb has not played since the disappointing end to his Tokyo Olympics campaign. Djokovic was defeated in the bronze medal match in singles, and then pulled out of the bronze medal match in mixed doubles citing an injury.
The 34-year-old missed last week's National Bank Open in Toronto, and he also announced that he won't be defending the title he won in 2020 in Cincinnati.
That means for the first time in his career, Djokovic will head into the US Open without having played in either of the two summer hardcourt Masters Series events in the United States.
Despite the lack of match practice, the Serb is still the favorite to lift the title at Flushing Meadows. Winning the US Open would make Djokovic the first man since Rod Laver to complete the Calendar Grand Slam.