Novak Djokovic calls tennis a ‘failure’ for less than 400 players actually make a living from it

Novak Djokovic brings to light the plight of lower-ranked players

Novak Djokovic calls tennis a ‘failure’ for less than 400 players actually make a living from it

Novak Djokovic(Images via: News18)

Novak Djokovic claimed his 24th Major singles title earlier this month at the 2023 US Open. With his victory over 2021 champ, Daniil Medvedev, Djokovic broke several records. He also represented his country, Serbia at the Davis Cup recently. Despite being one of the biggest names in tennis with a net worth of $220 million, Djokovic still cares deeply about the plight of lower-ranked tennis players.

The Serb co-founded the PTPA which is an agency that aims to prevent discrimination between players by bigger tennis associations to ensure the best possible treatment of tennis players. Following his Davis Cup stint, the 36-year-old recently revealed why changes are needed in the way tennis and its players are handled today.

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Novak Djokovic spoke to ESPN on behalf of the PTPA. The World No.1 revealed that he advocates for positive changes in tennis as he can understand the struggles of lower-ranked players, having been in their position earlier. “I understand the difficulties of paying the costs for travel if you don’t have the backing of a strong federation, which 90% or even more of the players around the world don’t have, & not having the budget to pay for coaches & physiotherapists.Coming from Serbia, I didn’t have any of that,” the Serb said.

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“We talk so much about how much money the US Open winners make but we are not talking about how many players, both men & women, singles, doubles, all together, professionals live from this sport. It’s less than 400 players max for a sport that is super global & then it’s one of the most-watched sports on the planet. That’s poor. That’s a failure for our sport,” Novak stated.

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Novak Djokovic exposes how betting houses ruin tennis

Betting was officialized a while back and is now being looked at as a legitimate way to make money by agencies and the committee. Tennis, being one of the most watched sports on the planet, is now seen as possessing a big scope for business opportunities. Novak Djokovic recently exposed betting houses in a tweet by the PTPA on social media platform, X.

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic(Image via: Washington Times)

“Being in the player council of ATP for almost a decade, whenever we would address this subject – what would normally surface in the discussion is the integrity, right? Like, we’ve got to fight to make sure that our sports stays clean. We’ve got to make sure that the players are not cheating & are not betting, they’re not compromising the tournaments, etc.,” Novak said taking a dig at betting houses operating underground.

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