The Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA), co-founded by Novak Djokovic, filed a lawsuit against the sport’s governing bodies on Tuesday, accusing them of anti-competitive practices and disregard for player welfare.

The PTPA, an independent players’ union co-founded by Novak Djokovic in 2019, said that after years of good-faith efforts to reform professional tennis, it had been forced to take legal action to end “monopolistic control” of the sport.

In a statement, the PTPA said that, along with more than a dozen players, it had filed papers in a New York court against the ATP Tour, the WTA Tour, the International Tennis Federation (ITF), and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).

“Tennis is broken,” Ahmad Nassar, Executive Director of the PTPA, said in a statement. “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. Fixing these systemic failures isn’t about disrupting tennis, it's about saving it for the generations of players and fans to come." In response, the ATP accused the PTPA of choosing "division and distraction" and having no meaningful role in the sport.

“We strongly reject the premise of the PTPA’s claims, believe the case to be entirely without merit, and will vigorously defend our position,” the ATP said in a statement. “ATP remains committed to working in the best interests of the game – towards continued growth, financial stability, and the best possible future for players, tournaments, and fans.”

The WTA defended its record of growing women’s tennis, describing the lawsuit as “baseless”.