According to several studies, tennis is the second sport that moves the most money in bets behind soccer. Bookmakers know this and sponsor many events on the professional circuit. However, there is something that has always generated tension: while tournaments can have betting houses as sponsors, players are prohibited from doing so.

And Novak Djokovic has opened the melon. Because although he is the number one in the world and the most successful tennis player in history - two weeks ago he won his 24th Grand Slam title at the US Open - the Serbian has always been very concerned about the rights of the players. He was for many years on the ATP Player Council - a consultative body that exerts pressure so that their demands are heard - and since 2020 he has led a union - the PTPA - that threatens to change the status quo of tennis. .

"There is one thing that is very illogical to me in this matter and that is that we have not moved from the site in the last 20 years. For the integrity of the sport, tennis players are not allowed to put betting house patches on our clothing when We play while tournaments are allowed to have betting houses as main sponsors," Djokovic said in a video shared on social networks by the PTPA (Professional Tennis Players Association).

The players are in a helpless situation

Number one wants tennis players to also benefit from these sponsorships, to let them carry advertising from betting houses. And if that is not possible, at least get a piece of the pie.

"The situation is totally unacceptable. Personally, I probably wouldn't wear a betting house patch on the sleeve of my shirt, but 95% of the players would and I support it," said the 37-year-old tennis player. "And if that is not allowed, what we would deserve is 50% of what a tournament receives from sponsorship with the betting houses".

Djokovic is aware that part of the money earned from tournaments through betting houses is saved directly for the ATP pension plan, a fund created in 1990 and which tennis players can access when they turn 50. But from his point of view that is not enough: he argues that the tennis and betting industry lines their pockets with bets and that the players receive practically nothing.

"Bookmakers are making hundreds of millions of dollars, perhaps billions, and many stakeholders in the tennis ecosystem are also benefiting through these deals. But tennis players are getting crumbs or almost nothing." Nole criticized.

"The players are probably not fully aware or perhaps they are not pushing hard enough for a fair distribution. The players are giving much more than they receive. They actually receive nothing and they give their names to all those websites. Thousands of Millions of dollars are circulating weekly from tennis tournaments and the players are in a helpless situation," he added. "We cannot allow this to continue happening."

According to ATP regulations, ATP 250 and ATP500 category tournaments can have bookmakers as main sponsors. In the Masters 1000 there can also be sponsors of this type, they must necessarily be providers of Fantasy games,

Meanwhile, the men's circuit code specifies the prohibition for tennis players: "It is prohibited for players to wear on their clothing any mention of tobacco companies or those associated with betting houses." However, after Djokovic's words and the pressure that the PTPA may exert, things may begin to change.

What is the PTPA, Djokovic's union

The PTPA, a kind of tennis players' union created in the middle of the pandemic but which has not begun to take flight until these last few months. Formed by tennis players from the men's and women's circuits, it was born with the primary objective of improving the economic conditions of the players, especially those who are far from the main focuses.

Led by Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, the organization was founded in 2020, but without the support of important men like Federer, Nadal and Murray and with the logical rejection of the ATP, the project faltered in the first months of life. Little by little, the PTPA was gaining support and in 2022 it launched in search of investors. The response, led by American businessman Bill Ackman, was a purse of 26 million dollars.

With the accounts in the green, construction of the project began. They created Winners Alliance, a platform that will be dedicated to maximizing commercial opportunities for tennis players. In addition, American lawyer Ahmad Nassar, who once led the NFL players association, assumed the position of CEO of the PTPA in August 2022.

A few months later, this January, during the Australian Open, there was a meeting at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Melbourne in which the first executive committee of the PTPA was formed. There are eight tennis players in total; four men, Djokovic, Pospisil, Hubert Hurkacz and John Isner; and four women, Paula Badosa, Ons Jabeur, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Zheng Saisai.