Not only did he lose on the court against Daniil Medvedev in the second appearance at the London Masters, he also received a severe setback from the ATP. Novak Djokovic confirmed that the organization voted against players being able to belong to two tennis associations at the same time, which will prevent the world’s number one from being on the ATP Players Council and the Professional Tennis Players Association ( PTPA).
In the last hours it had come to light that the Belgrade tennis player had stood in the elections to be held at the end of the year for the Players Council, just three months after his resignation.
However, Djokovic, at a press conference after losing to Medvedev, announced that the candidacy was not by his will, but was nominated by a “great group of tennis players”.
“It is not true that I asked for it. Other players have nominated me. For me it is a good sign and I feel responsible to be able to represent other players and I see no problem in being in the two organizations. That is why I have accepted the nomination”Djokovic said.
And I add: “But then last night the ATP voted on a rule that no active player can be on the Council and in any other organization at the same time.”.
Djokovic described this decision as “disappointing” and noted that no one from the ATP consulted him on this measure. “I have always been transparent and honest with everyone, and I have insisted that legally there is no problem in being part of the Council and the PTPA”, Nole argued.
“I think there is a lot of confusion about what the PTPA stands for and why it was founded. It was created because there is no organization right now or in the history of tennis that represents 100% the rights of the players.”said the Serbian.
According to the Serbian, the ATP is made up of 50% by players and the other 50% by tournaments, which causes “conflicts of interest.”
“That’s why many tennis players signed a document to be part of the PTPA, because there is a lot of dissatisfaction with how the system works now, especially with low-ranking players.“he added.
Djokovic expressed that they want to collaborate with the ATP and that they want to be part of the ecosystem, because it is what “the players deserve.”
“Now with this new rule, they have wanted to send a very clear message that they do not want the PTPA in the system”, said the number one in the world, who said that, due to this situation, they now have to reconsider their situation and plan what their next move will be.
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