The Novak Djokovic-led PTPA (Professional Tennis Players Association) has been called out by tennis fans for simply releasing statements and not ever coming up with solutions in light of recent developments.
After Andy Murray's second-round match against Thanasi Kokkinakis stretched to nearly six hours and ended at 4 am on Friday, a number of tennis experts raised concerns regarding the late scheduling. The PTPA also put out a statement, saying that late finishes were unsuitable for everyone involved and that the organization would find alternatives in the future.
"The PTPA is committed to advocating for and contributing to the best vision and structure of tennis globally, as indicated in our official principles. That vision and structure starts with match and tournament scheduling. Having players compete past 4 am local time, totaling nearly six hours, hurts the players, fans, event staff, and all involved. We look forward to exploring alternate means to scheduling that put fans & players and their wellbeing first," the statement read.
The tennis world, however, seemed unimpressed with the PTPA, which was co-founded by Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil in 2019 to safeguard the interests of players. Fans demanded action from the organization and slammed it for only pointing out the problems.
"This is just a corporate statement. What action / process are you going to take so that it stops and this does not happen anytime in the future? It has to stop," a fan tweeted.
"That's all required for players to fall for Djokovic and award him wins in draws and praise him a lot. Love can be bought by pretending wishing well being," a user wrote.
"All I ever see from the PTPA are stances on things they are against but I’ve yet to see an alternative idea presented from them for anything," another tweet read.
Here are a few more reactions:
"Players don't have 100% representation in tennis world" - Novak Djokovic on why PTPA is needed

Ahead of the 2023 Australian Open, the PTPA announced that six top players from the ATP and WTA will join Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil to form the breakaway organization's first executive committee. The six stars were Paula Badosa, Ons Jabeur, John Isner, Hubert Hurkacz, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Saisai Zheng.
During the Adelaide International 1, the Serb spoke about PTPA's struggles but hoped for more players to join him in the future, stating that it was essential that his colleagues have an organization that fully represented them.
"We were not accepted and embraced by Grand Slams, ATP nor WTA, so it makes things difficult for us, but this association needs to live," Djokovic said. "It needs to be there because players don't have 100 percent representation in the tennis world, unfortunately. With the association, they have that. Hopefully, more players will be showing the willingness to understand what PTPA can do for them."
How did Novak Djokovic meet Jelena Ristic? All about the most admired couples in tennis