The Professional Tennis Players Association issued a press release this morning to announce that it has filed a series of legal actions against a “cartel” of tennis-governing bodies that stand accused of operating a “Corrupt, Illegal and Abusive System” that amounts to a monopoly.
The defendants include all the major governing bodies in the sport: the International Tennis Federation (ITF), Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). The latter oversees the game’s anti-doping and anti-corruption efforts.
“Tennis is broken,” Ahmad Nassar, Executive Director of the PTPA, said in the press release. “Behind the glamorous veneer that the Defendants promote, players are trapped in an unfair system that exploits their talent, suppresses their earnings, and jeopardizes their health and safety. We have exhausted all options for reform through dialogue, and the governing bodies have left us no choice but to seek accountability through the courts.”
