As the founder of PTPA, Djokovic has long advocated for better conditions for tennis players. This persistence stems from his personal life experiences, as a player who rose from the bottom, he is well aware of the high costs and pressures that tennis players have to bear.
Most tennis players can barely cover their basic expenses, let alone earn substantial incomes through playing tennis. Top players like Djokovic do make a lot of money, but very few reach that level.
Despite having been at the pinnacle of tennis for quite some time, Djokovic continues to speak candidly about this issue. He established the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) with the aim of creating better conditions for other professional players. Since its inception, many players have joined the organization.
Recently, he brought up the issue again at a press conference during the Brisbane International. He also openly criticized the ATP for not creating better conditions for tennis players so that they could earn more money like athletes in other sports, especially considering that tennis is one of the most popular sports globally.
He said, "We do have a problem here. The structure of the ATP itself is the problem because, as players, we account for 50% of the organization. There has always been - though not always, but often - a conflict of interest between tournament organizers and players. We want different things. In other major sports like the NFL, NBA, baseball, NHL, etc., the revenue-sharing ratio for these main sports is usually 50% or more, some slightly lower, but generally around 50%. However, our (tennis) ratio is far below this level, which is true."
Djokovic has made similar remarks in the past, and these issues are precisely the driving force behind his establishment of the PTPA. He discussed part of his motivation for founding the PTPA in an earlier interview with the famous CBS program "60 Minutes."
He said, "Male and female players ranked 200th and below face significant difficulties. They cannot afford coaching fees, cannot bear travel expenses, and have to give up participating in some competitions. Many of them leave tennis, even though they are very talented and may achieve great success, but they just can't hold on."
Since its establishment, the PTPA's achievements have been limited, partly due to the ATP's very hostile attitude towards Djokovic's initiative. Nonetheless, some professional players, such as Hurkacz, Jabeur, and Badosa, have joined the organization.
Djokovic explained that one of the core goals of the PTPA is to strive for fairness in income distribution and benefits in tennis, "We often talk about how much the US Open champion earns, but we don't talk about how many players - including male and female players, singles and doubles players, all professional players - make a living from this sport. At most, fewer than 400 players participate in this global sport, yet it is one of the most-watched sports in the world. That's terrible. It's a failure of our sport."
Djokovic participated in the doubles competition in Brisbane this week with his partner Kyrgios. Kyrgios criticized the scheduling of the professional tour at a press conference after the match, describing the player revenue-sharing ratio as "ridiculous."
"This tour is absurd compared to any other sport," the Australian said at a press conference in Brisbane, "The amount of travel we need to do is simply too much, and considering that we're not getting the pay we should, it's a joke. This is a very tough sport, especially if you're from Australia, you might not see your family and friends for six, seven, eight months." (Source: Tennis Home Author: Spark)