CHENNAI: In the serene centre court inside the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre, Novak Djokovic battled a first set breadstick to beat Milos Raonic in the final of the Western and Southern Open on Saturday.
The World No 1 found the answers to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to take his unbeaten streak to 23-0 in 2020. The main battle, however, was just beginning off the court. Some 24 hours earlier, it had emerged that Djokovic, and Vasek Pospisil, had resigned from the ATP Player Council to start a new players body, Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA).
Djokovic, former president of the Players Council, and Pospisil, a player representative, both walked out of the Council because they were of the belief that the Tour wasn’t taking their concerns to heart. So they broke away, lobbied hard and aggressively to sign players (it's going to be an all men platform at least for the time being) for the PTPA.
After the final, the players who were within the secure bubble in New York and had signed up for the new body posed for a picture. "After today’s successful meeting, we are excited to announce the PTPA. The first player only association in tennis since 1972," Pospisil tweeted.
Some players are of the opinion that the ATP have failed them, especially during the pandemic. Most are of the belief that the Slams pass on only a fraction of their revenue to players in the form of prize money. The PTPA, the players hope, will address these concerns.
This is exactly why India's best singles player (Sumit Nagal) and doubles player (Rohan Bopanna) by ranking have signed up for the new group. "The PTPA is basically to unify players to have our voices heard," Bopanna told The New Indian Express.
"It’s not to be combative or disrupt or cause any issue within or outside the tennis tour. The goal of the PTPA is not to replace the ATP but to provide players with a self governance structure that is independent from the ATP and directly responsive to player members' needs and concerns,' he added.
Even if PTPA maintain that they should not be viewed as a threat, the ATP, at least as it stands, see them as a threat. To prevent players from signing up, the seven governing bodies of tennis (the four Slams, the ITF, the ATP and the WTA), issued a joint statement.
"Now more than ever we need collaboration and strong relationships, and we fully support the ATP in its role in representing the best interests of players throughout this process. It is our responsibility to ensure that our sport emerges from this crisis with strong foundations on which we can build. It is a time for even greater collaboration, not division; a time to consider and act in the best interests of the sport, now and for the future. When we work together, we are a stronger sport," the statement said.
The remaining members of the Player Council, including Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, also issued a letter, which is in the public domain. "We do not endorse the formation of a new player council. We believe this is the wrong time to pursue this course of action as it undermines our new management’s ability to achieve their vision for our sport," it said.
The Council, also comprising Kevin Anderson, Juergen Melzer, Sam Querrey and Bruno Soares, raise seven questions.
This document is so reliant on ATP still continuing to run the sport. This cannot happen. So what happens then? What happens if tournaments go against us?”
Why do we not have a concise, analytical, detailed business plan of what is next? What is the best case, medium case and worst-case projections that we will make financially?”
Can you give us a clear list of additional rights that this player association will provide us? What additional leverage do we have? What is the contingency plan to protect us if this goes ahead and badly?
If the purpose is to represent the interest of all players, why are there many players not included in this? Why are the player council not even asked?
What happens to my ATP membership? ATP pension? ATP insurance? ATP entries?
Who are the main people/experts that are advising you? I assume this could become very legal and who is paying for this?
Who is taking any responsibility for any fallout both with our careers, income and negativity?
If those strong words weren’t enough, both Nadal and Federer also tweeted late on Saturday night to maintain their support of the ATP.
"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 separation. These are moments where big things can be achieved as long as the world of tennis is united. 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," the Spaniard posted.
To this, the Swiss posted: "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." Nevertheless, players have already up for PTPA.
Another Indian who has signed up for it Sasikumar Mukund. When asked his though process, he was very intimate. "I have to say Vasek was the main reason why I kind of signed it... it’s just a step towards a better future because in the last five years, ATP hasn’t done a good job at all. In fact, they messed the life of many players with the transition tournament. Now the way they have handled the pandemic. So like that... they went wrong with many basic stuff which made a big impact on the lives of the players. So it was high time someone stepped it up and formed an initiative because many things can be changed with the simplest of application of common sense," he told this daily.
With the tennis world in New York for the US Open beginning on Monday, this issue is set to rumble on at least for the next two weeks.