Professional Tennis Players Association | |
| Founded | 2019 |
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| Location |
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Key people |
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| Website | ptpaplayers |
The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) is an association of male and female tennis players founded by the players Vasek Pospisil and Novak Djokovic. The group represents singles players in the top 500 and doubles players in the top 200 of the ATP rankings and WTA rankings.
It was founded by players who had previously been members of the Association of Tennis Professionals Players Council. Members of the PTPA include Novak Djokovic, the outgoing president of the Council, and Vasek Pospisil. The pair will initially serve as co-presidents of the PTPA for a two-year period. The PTPA is governed by a board of trustees of nine members, to be elected annually.
As the ATP is the representative of both players and tournaments, a greater degree of autonomy for players is sought by the members of the PTPA. According to proponents of the new association, the current structure makes having decisions in the best interests of the players difficult, given the conflicting and complex interests of tournaments, Grand Slam bodies and the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The PTPA said in a document that the goal of their organization was "not to replace" the ATP but to "provide players with a self-governance structure that is independent from the ATP and is directly responsive to player-members needs and concerns".[1]