Why Novak Djokovic's Attempt to Reform Tennis Failed

The Serbian legend has walked away from the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) which he founded. Here's why.

On January 4, Novak Djokovic announced he had severed ties with the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), marking a definitive but predictable end to his involvement with the players’ union he co-founded six years earlier.

The split was not amicable.

For the 24-time Grand Slam champion, the PTPA had becom something he could not support, citing a “lack of transparency,” governance structures where “my voice lacks authority,” and concerns over “the way my voice and image have been represented.”

The PTPA fired back, claiming it had endured “coordinated defamation and witness intimidation” aimed at discrediting its staff.

Several question lie at the heart of its split. The first is whether Djokovic’s superstar nature and personal decisions were ever compatible with the PTPA’s broader goals. The second is whether players can really unionise within a sport that treats them as independent contractors and which has such fragmented governance.

Djokovic's exit suggests the answer to both questions may be no.