PTPA welcomes player letter as more pressure for change

BENGALURU - Professional Tennis Players Association chief Ahmad Nassar welcomed the demand by the worlds top-ranked players for higher prize money at the Grand Slams and believes the move is a direct consequence of the advocacy groups calls for change.

Co-founded in 2020 by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil with the intention of being the voice of the players and the catalyst for change, the PTPA filed a class-action lawsuit against the sports governing bodies last month calling for reforms.

That was followed by a letter from the top 20 ATP and WTA players seeking a bigger slice of the pie from the four majors and although the PTPA was not a signatory to it, Nassar said more pressure on the system was appreciated.

It didnt come out of nowhere. It was a direct response to the threat of our lawsuit, and its not coming from a different place, its coming from the players, Nassar told Reuters via video call from New York.

So the source of all of this is the same ... There are 500 singles players, another 100-200 doubles players from all parts of the globe, so attacking this from different angles is a good thing, not a bad thing.

Its more pressure on the system ... I viewed it as another piece of affirmation that were on the right track, and clearly, the players care.

The French Open and the U.S. Open confirmed to Reuters that they had received the letter and welcomed conversations with the players ahead of Roland Garros which will begin next month.

Nassar said the PTPA, which filed its lawsuit in New York, London and Brussels against the ATP, the WTA, the International Tennis Federation and the International Tennis Integrity Agency, was focused on delivering major structural reforms.

PLAYER COMPLAINTS

Players have