BENGALURU (Reuters) -Professional Tennis Players' Association chief Ahmad Nassar welcomed the demand by the world's top-ranked players for higher prize money at the Grand Slams and believes the move is a direct consequence of the advocacy group's calls for change.
Co-founded in 2020 by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil with the intention of being the voice of the players and the catalyst for change, the PTPA filed a class-action lawsuit against the sport's governing bodies last month calling for reforms.
That was followed by a letter from the top 20 ATP and WTA players seeking a bigger slice of the pie from the four majors and although the PTPA was not a signatory to it, Nassar said more pressure on the system was appreciated.
"It didn't come out of nowhere. It was a direct response to the threat of our lawsuit, and it's not coming from a different place, it's coming from the players," Nassar told Reuters via video call from New York.
"So the source of all of this is the same ... There are 500 singles players, another 100-200 doubles players from all parts of the globe, so attacking this from different angles is a good thing, not a bad thing.
"It's more pressure on the system ... I viewed it as another piece of affirmation that we're on the right track, and clearly, the players care."
The French Open and the U.S. Open confirmed to Reuters that they had received the letter and welcomed conversations with the players ahead of Roland Garros which will begin next month.
Nassar said the PTPA, which filed its lawsuit in New York, London and Brussels against the ATP, the WTA, the International Tennis Federation and the International Tennis Integrity Agency, was focused on delivering major structural reforms.
PLAYER COMPLAINTS
Players have complained in recent years about the gruelling tennis calendar and the majors have in the past proposed a more streamlined "Premier Tour" comprising the four Grand Slams as well as 10 elite combined men's and women's events.
Nassar said the tours had also made plans to restructure the sport and he described the situation as a "political food fight" with no solutions so far.
"The Grand Slams have their proposal to restructure the sport. The tours are working on their proposal to restructure the sport. Nothing has happened," he added.
"These things get leaked and people get insulted or upset that nothing is happening and that their proposal was put out publicly. It's intensified that cycle, because people are realising what we've said all along.
"We're very serious about prompting change and we'll not stop until change has come."
Nassar said the PTPA did not want its lawsuit - which says the governing bodies indulge in anti-competitive practices and disregards player welfare - to end in a trial many years later after millions of dollars have been spent.
The PTPA executive director also called for cooler heads to prevail and the focus to be on solutions.
"No business wants these disputes to go to trial," added Nassar, who will attend a hearing connected to the lawsuit in a New York court on Friday.
"They don't even want it to be filed in the first place, and want business disputes to be resolved with business solutions.
"We're no different. This is true of anybody who has these sorts of issues in their business, in their industry. So no, the trial would be years off and these things aren't quick and they're not cheap."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in BengaluruEditing by Christian Radnedge)
