Novak Djokovic praised for serving to ‘weak’ Russian tennis ace
Novak Djokovic has been praised for the work of his Professional Tennis Players Association. The world No 1 co-founded the PTPA with fellow professional Vasek Pospisil in 2020 and Russian-born Kazakh participant Mikhail Kukushkin has credited the group for “defending his rights”.
Away from the tennis court docket, Djokovic has been identified to place his efforts into preventing for lower-ranked gamers. The 22-time Grand Slam champion reached out to rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal throughout the pandemic to arrange a reduction fund of as much as £3.6 million ($4.5 million) to be distributed to gamers with decrease rankings.
And he constructed on that work afterward in 2020, becoming a member of forces with Pospisil to create the PTPA forward of the US Open. According to the organisation’s web site, the PTPA “is dedicated to uniting and mobilising tennis players in order to create transparency and equity throughout professional tennis.”
One of Djokovic’s colleagues has now defined how essential the PTPA’s work is to him, as present world No 295 Kukushkin opened up about being left feeling like there was nobody defending him. “Hello, I’m Mihail Kukushkin. I have playing on the tour already for 17 years and I have always felt unprotected and very alone,” he mentioned in a video for the PTPA.
A former prime 40 participant, the Russian-born Kazakh defined why he thought Djokovic’s organisation was so essential to the game. He continued: “There was nobody to defend my rights. There was nobody to help and support me and other players.
“So right now with the PTPA I believe it is very important that there is such an organisation that can help the players. They can support, unite and with the PTPA I believe that tennis will succeed even more in the future. So I’m really looking forward to see where it will bring us.”
It comes because the PTPA government committee – which incorporates Djokovic and a bunch of different prime gamers – responded to accusations that the organisation “generates division”. In an open letter to all skilled tennis gamers, they wrote: “It is important to note that the PTPA is not in competition with player councils, which have their own unique value.
“This is a matter of providing support and advocacy to every player, regardless of the circumstances or surroundings. Nonetheless, tour-specific player councils are not substitutes for a fully independent players association that operates across the sport.”
The committee – Djokovic, Pospisil, Paula Badosa, Hubert Hurkacz, John Isner, Ons Jabeur, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Saisai Zheng – added: “Other sports have flourished by having united and vibrant players associations, and we look forward to a bright future for tennis as well.”