World number three Carlos Alcaraz has distanced himself from the class-action lawsuit filed by the Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA) against the governing bodies of the sport.
The PTPA, an advocacy group established by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, filed the lawsuit earlier this week.
It accused the ATP, WTA, International Tennis Federation and International Tennis Integrity Agency of anti-competitive practices.
The PTPA said the governing bodies were also disregarding player welfare and in one section of the 163-page document included a quote from four-time major champion Alcaraz, who had criticised the hectic tennis calendar last September.
“It was surprising for me, because no-one had told me about it,” Alcaraz said at a Miami Open media conference.
“Yesterday I saw on social media that they put something I said in a press conference in the documents and I wasn’t aware of it.
“I honestly don’t support that letter because I wasn’t aware of it.”
The ATP rejected the PTPA’s claims and said the advocacy group was guilty of “division and distraction”.
The WTA described the lawsuit as “regrettable and misguided”.
Djokovic said he does not want the lawsuit to create a rift in tennis.
But he insisted the players’ share of revenue needed to increase.
“I’ve never been a fan and supporter of division in our sport,” Djokovic said.
“But I’ve always fought for better representation and influence of and positioning of the players globally in our sport, which I think is still not where I think it should be.”
Pospisil said the PTPA had spoken to more than 300 players and had significant support.
Nick Kyrgios, one of the 12 current and former players named as plaintiffs along with the PTPA in the US suit in New York, said it marked a “special moment”.
Reuters
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