“These are the right ideas”- Roger Federer’s coach disagrees with him; backs Novak Djokovic led PTPA

“These are the right ideas”- Roger Federer’s coach disagrees with him; backs Novak Djokovic led PTPA
Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic

The past year saw one of the greatest steps taken in tennis history. Many players decided to depart from the already established ATP Players Council, and join the newly-formed PTPA (Professional Tennis Players Association). This vast measure was taken by the World No.1 Novak Djokovic, who voiced the negligence that players, especially the lower ranked ones, on the ATP and WTA Tour have to deal with.

Moreover, the 17-time Grand Slam champion was backed by a number of players like Vasek Pospisil and John Isner. Even though such is the case, some disagreed with Nole. Amongst these were 20-time Grand Slam champions, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. They cited that this step would cause a rift in the tennis community, which needed to be united in the face of the ongoing pandemic. 

However, in a recent interview, Federer’s coach who has guided him since 2015, Ivan Ljubicic, went against his mentee’s opinion and voiced his vote for Nole’s PTPA.

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Ljubicic takes the PTPA’s intent into consideration

Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer

In an interview with Tennis Magazine Italia, Ljubicic stated that whilst he didn’t closely follow every update about the PTPA, if the end-goal was to improve the conditions for the players, he thought of it as a good idea.

Ljubicic said, “Not being a player anymore, I didn’t follow it with utmost attention. I certainly understand good intentions. If the goal is to make the players weigh more. And increase the percentage of prize money that goes to those who play. These are the right ideas.”

“And I realize that players further back in the standings may feel less represented. Because they are economically weaker. But tennis players know that our job is not a socialist profession. We are on the pitch alone, against each other, to win. And to secure as large a slice of prize money as possible, taking it away from others,” the Croatian concluded.

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