Nick Kyrgios, one of the signatures to the Professional Tennis Players Association’s landmark lawsuit against tennis’ governing bodies, has described the legal action as a “special moment” for the sport.
The former Wimbledon finalist is among twelve players to formally put their names to the PTPA’s wide-ranging legal claim, filed in the UK, US, and EU on Tuesday, against the men’s and women’s tours, the International Tennis Federation, and the International Tennis Integrity Agency, which oversees the sport’s anti-doping system.
The PTPA - an association set up by Novak Djokovic and Canadian player Vasek Pospisil in 2020 - issued a statement in which it claims to speak “on behalf of the entire player population”, and has a sweeping list of complaints.
"I felt people knew something was going on behind the scenes for a long time," Kyrgios told Sky Sports. "We wanted to do something like this for the future of tennis.
"This will be a special moment in tennis, for sure. Things needed to change. It's a big day for tennis."
The lawsuit primarily argues that the governing bodies impose restrictions on player earnings and suppress competition within the tennis calendar, such as by enforcing artificial caps on individual tournaments’ prize money, meaning tennis lags behind other sports in what it pays its top athletes. The claim also accuses the governing bodies of mistreatment of players, including forcing them to compete in unsafe weather conditions and alleged violations of privacy in anti-doping protocols.
"The PTPA's first goal was to get the players to be heard,” Kyrgios added. “I feel like we don't get heard. For instance, we're using different balls pretty much every week, things that absolutely shouldn't be happening in a high, professional sport.
"I don't think players ultimately have been very happy with what they earn on the tour comparatively to other sports and that's definitely one of the main reasons."
The PTPA has often found itself at odds with the sport’s governing bodies, and has struggled to enact meaningful change since it was founded. The landmark lawsuit has the potential to reshape tennis in line with other major sports and leagues such as the NBA, in which players receive a greater share of revenue and more autonomy, although not without a lengthy legal battle.
