The players’ lobby group embroiled in a lawsuit with tennis authorities is seeking $1bn in investment to fund a radical restructure of the professional game based around a new Pinnacle Tour that would offer more prize money for the top men and women despite playing fewer tournaments.
In a direct challenge to the ATP and WTA tours, the Professional Tennis Players Association has developed a new blueprint for the sport, Future Tennis, that was sent to more than 20 investment banks and financial advisory firms on Tuesday.
The PTPA, which is suing both tours and three of the four grand slam tournaments in New York District Court, is understood to have worked with Tennis Australia on drafting the proposed new structure after the players’ lobby group withdrew its legal claim against the organisers of the Australian Open.
As reported this week, the terms of that settlement agreement will involve Tennis Australia cooperating with the PTPA against the other grand slam tournaments in the court case, including providing confidential financial information, in return for being removed from the claim and avoiding liability for potential damages that could reach tens of millions of pounds.
A source involved in producing the Future Tennis document, which was first reported by the Daily Telegraph, has said that it is an attempt to develop a framework for settling the lawsuit and building a better future for tennis, but the tours and the slams are unlikely to see it that way.
The details of Tennis Australia’s legal settlement with the PTPA had already inflamed existing tensions with the other grand slams, and one source involved claimed the latest development has taken the sport to the brink of civil war.
The PTPA has grown to represent more than 600 professionals since being formed by Novak Djokovic and Canadian Vasek Pospisil six years ago to advocate for more prize money and a bigger say in running the sport, although the 24-time grand slam winner announced he was stepping back from the organisation this month.
Since filing the lawsuit last March the PTPA’s focus appears to have shifted to putting pressure on the tennis authorities to settle the claim, particularly given its deal with Tennis Australia, and a successful funding round would strengthen its position by opening the possibility of a breakaway tour. The Future Tennis document is extremely critical of the sport’s existing structure and governance framework, saying that “professional tennis has underperformed its potential for years”, as well as referring to “deeper structural issues: a fragmented yet suppressive governance model, a confusing and inaccessible calendar for fans, and player compensation artificially capped and well below industry peers”.
The PTPA’s proposed solution is a new three-tiered professional structure topped by the Pinnacle Tour, which in addition to a 50% increase would offer equal prize money to men and women, with top 100 players guaranteed to receive $1m (£745,000) in the first year, rising to $2.3m after 10 years. Future Tennis also envisages the sport uniting under a single-entity governing body – there are three in the form of the ATP, WTA and International Tennis Federation – but there are no details on how to bring that about.
The PTPA declined to comment when contacted.
