Novak Djokovic Exposes Generational Divide Over Player Pay And Power

Novak Djokovic empathizes with the concerns Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner and other tennis superstars have with how the Grand Slam tournaments compensate players. However, Djokovic refuses to cosign their methods.

Djokovic defeated Marin Cilic 7-6 (2), 6-4 in his opening match at the Rolex Masters in Shanghai. Before the tournament, the 24-time Grand Slam champion exposed a generational divide over how tennis players address pay and power.

Djokovic implied the young superstars make demands without putting in the work to achieve change.

“In the end, as a player and someone that has been playing on the highest level for more than 20 years, I can say that the players are not united enough,” said Djokovic. “Players are not participating enough when they should be. So they make the comments and they complain, and then they go away.”

In March, Djokovic, Alcaraz, Swiatek, Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Sinner and most of the Top 10 players on the WTA and ATP Tours sent a letter to the four Grand Slam tournaments, demanding changes to the schedule and compensation.

They sent a second later in July, despite the U.S. Open increasing prize money to a record $90 million purse. Djokovic’s signature was not on that letter.

The Athletic obtained and reviewed the letter which focused on three areas of reform from the Major tournaments:

• Contribution and improvements to a benefits fund that covers pension, healthcare, and maternity leave.
• An increased share of revenue from the Slams. Tennis players currently receive 16 percent of the revenue, compared to the 50 percent share enjoyed by NFL, MLB, and NBA players.
• Greater player consultation and representation, with the formation of a Grand Slam Player Council. This would be consulted on decisions such as expanding tournaments to 15 days, as the Australian Open and U.S. Open have done in recent years.

Most of the demands align with the goals of the Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA), co-founded by Djokovic in 2019. But few of the players whose signatures are on the letter to the Slams, are part of the PTPA.

Taylor Townsend and Hubert Hurkacz are the only players under 30 on the PTPA’s executive committee.

In March, the PTPA filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), accusing the entities of acting as a cartel. Djokovic was not listed among the plaintiffs.

Three days later, the top players sent the initial letter to the Slams, forming an alternative to the PTPA, which updated its lawsuit in June, adding and removing plaintiffs. Notably absent were top players such as Gauff, Swiatek, Sinner, Sabalenka, and Alcaraz.

Peter Bodo wrote in Tennis.com that “no top-tier stars among the named complainants, giving the impression, rightly or wrongly, that the PTPA’s lawsuit does not have the support of most of the most powerful voices in the game.”

Alcaraz, Swiatek Not On Board With PTPA Lawsuit

Alcaraz and Swiatek publicly opposed the lawsuit.

“There are some things that I agree (with). There are some other things that I (don’t) agree with,” Alcaraz said during a press news conference at the Miami Open. “But the main thing here is that I am not supporting that. So that’s it.”

When asked about the lawsuit, Swiatek said she supports some of the objectives but not the legal action.

“Honestly, I don’t have any thoughts, because I wasn’t really involved or asked. So I wasn’t really aware of the action, you know, before. I kind of only know what you guys know, what everybody knows from the media,” Swiatek told reporters.

Instead of forming a union, the top players hired former WTA chief executive Larry Scott to lobby the Slams.

Meanwhile, Tiafoe, a Gen Z players involved with the PTPA and signature on the recent letter, noted the lack of unity in an interview with The Changeover.

“That’s how I feel about the PTPA and the lawsuits, it’s like, it’s cool and whatever, and you know, those guys who are in support of it, or behind it, I’m sure are trying to do good things for the game,” Tiafoe said.“But until we get real unity, and everyone’s really on the same page, for me personally, it doesn’t really move the needle.”

Djokovic Wants Top Players To Get More Involved

“You have to invest the time, you have to invest energy yourself, not your agent, not your team, not your parents, not anybody, yourself, to dedicate yourself to understanding how the system works,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic is 38 and near the end of his career. He’s also a Millennial, unlike most of the players in the Top 10, who are Gen Z.

Millennials and Gen Z adults share similar outlooks on work-life balance. Gen Z adults looking to change jobs or fields cite paid time off (65%) and a flexible work schedule (58%) among the top benefits impacting their choice of an employer, according to a 2023 survey conducted by Georgetown University, in partnership with Bank of America.

Gen Z is as open to unions as Millennials. However, top players seem more comfortable operating within the ATP and WTA structures and more concerned about the amount of mandatory tournaments.

“I think people are more fatigued,” Swiatek told reporters. “Unfortunately, the Asian Swing is the hardest part because you feel like the season is going to finish soon, but you still need to push.”

Swiatek worries about the cumulative impact of more mandatory tournaments and shorter off-seasons. Elina Svitolina shut down her season early. Alcaraz won the Japan Open but withdrew from the Shanghai Masters due to injury. Sabalenka skipped the China Open.

“I don’t know yet how my career is going to look like in a couple years. Maybe I will have to choose some tournaments and skip them, even though they are mandatory. The WTA, with these mandatory rules, they made this pretty crazy for us.”

Meanwhile, Djokovic supports a collective bargaining organization similar to the players’ unions in the NFL, NBA and MLB.

The irony is that the Gen Z tennis stars are already earning more money than players from Djokovic’s era. Swiatek has earned more career prize money than Venus Williams, as have Alcaraz, Sinner, and Alexander Zverev. Alcaraz cleared the $50 million mark this year. Their prize money does not include lucrative endorsement deals like the type that helped make Roger Federer a billionaire.

Qinwen Zheng Disagrees With Fellow Gen Z Players

Not all Gen Z stars share Swiatek’s scheduling concerns.

“I mean, this is part of the games. As a professional player, I mean, this is what it is because we have to play that many tournament because there is in the calendar,” said Qinwen Zheng, 22, during a press conference at the China Open. “I think my situation’s different than them. I coming from surgery, which is really rush decision for me to playing here… But I don’t think for professional player the calendar is too much because the strongest players survive, and that’s the rules in my head.”

Meanwhile, Djokovic warns the younger top players that writing letters and posting statements to social media won’t bring about change.

“Going out in the media and talking about this and that, okay, it might stir up some energy or some attention,” he said. “But in the end of the day it’s not going to change, nothing is going to change, you know? I know it from my personal experience, trust me.”