PTPA has made amazing progress: Pospisil

Considered a rebellion, the player group was led by World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and a former top-30 player Pospisil, outside the realms of the ATP, the primary association in charge of men's tennis.

Bengaluru: With an intention to hear players’ concerns and provide better support for those on Tour, especially in the lower-rung tournaments, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) was formed in 2020. 

Considered a rebellion, the player group was led by World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and a former top-30 player Vasek Pospisil, outside the realms of the ATP, the primary association in charge of men's tennis. 

However, the PTPA hasn’t quite managed to make as much noise lately as they did when the entity came together with promises of advocating major changes. 

Canada’s Pospisil, the co-founder of PTPA, who is here in the city competing at the Bengaluru Open, is of a different opinion. 

“We have made amazing progress,” offered the 33-year-old while talking to the media after winning his first round at the KSLTA. 

“We have close to 500 players and most of the top ones. I think we are really close to making some big changes in the sport. But at the same time it doesn't happen overnight. We are making really big strides considering we have only been around for a year and a half since we brought in a CEO (Ahmad Nassar),” he added. 

One of the main issues taken up by PTPA was demanding more prize money for players. To put things into perspective, at the start of 2023, ATP announced a 60% increase in the total purse which went from $13.2 million in 2022 to a record $21.1 million. And Pospisil, who is on a comeback trail after recovering from injuries, felt that PTPA had a direct role to play in this positive development. 

“I think it is because of PTPA. They (ATP) will never admit it. But even three years ago when the new chairman (Andrea Gaudenzi) was coming in, he had no plans for the Challenger level. So it is for sure the pressure from PTPA. It is great that we are already having this impact indirectly and that's what we want to do,” he said. 

Over a year ago, the PTPA appointed its first-ever executive committee comprising four men and women players -- Djokovic, Pospisil, John Isner, Hubert Hurkacz, Paula Badosa, Ons Jabeur, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Saisai Zheng. The eight-member team also unveiled the principles on which the association wants to build a strong foundation on. Apart from increased prize money, mental health support for the players will be one of the primary objectives of PTPA going forward. 

“There is mental health. What to do after your career. Things to take care of financially, insurance…Basically, we are looking to build a web of services. 

“Personally, the biggest thing that people don't even know about is life after tennis. Nobody knows it until they retire and you know about all these athletes who have depression. Because they stop playing sport and suddenly they don't have an identity. Building a platform for some support, even educating some of these players as to what can happen after tennis, that's a big one for me,” offered Pospisil.