Tennis Australia settles with PTPA and will cooperate against other Grand Slams

PTPA launched legal action against tennis authorities last March

Breakaway organisation says settlement signals that remaining defendants “may find it in their interest to engage promptly with reform”

Tennis’ civil war has taken another turn after details of a settlement between Tennis Australia (TA) and the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) were published.

Breakaway player’s union the PTPA launched legal action against tennis’ governing bodies and the Grand Slams last March, accusing the organisations of “systemic abuse, anti-competitive practices, and a blatant disregard for player welfare”.

Among the PTPA’s complaints are the suppression of competition between tournaments, which it says reduces prize money, a draconian ranking points system, an unsustainable schedule and financial exploitation of players.

It also accused the governing bodies of disregarding player welfare by forcing athletes to compete late at night and in extreme heat, while branding anti-doping practices as an invasion of privacy.

However, Australian Open organiser TA was dropped from the claim last month after the organisation reached a settlement with the PTPA. Details of the early-stage settlement were published on 17th January in the New York district court.

The court documents say TA has agreed to cooperate with the PTPA against the other Grand Slams, including providing confidential financial information, in return for being removed from the claim and avoiding liability for potential damages that could reach tens of millions of dollars.

“Tennis Australia will begin providing valuable discovery that [the plaintiffs] may or may not have been ultimately able to obtain from Tennis Australia, which damages class plaintiffs can use in litigating their claims well in advance of court-ordered discovery against ATP and WTA,” the PTPA’s lawyers claim in a court filing, as reported by the Guardian.

“In exchange for a release of liability for monetary damages, Tennis Australia agrees to provide damages class plaintiffs with materials, facts, and other information known to Tennis Australia relevant to plaintiffs’ claims against the tour defendants and grand slam defendants, including information regarding: financial books and records; tournament prize money; player name, image and likeness (“NIL”) rights and uses; player sponsorship and endorsement opportunities; tour scheduling requirements; player ranking points; player participation in non-Tour events; player claim enforcement mechanisms; and communications or agreements.”

The PTPA’s lawyers wrote: “By narrowing the number of defendants liable for damages in this case, damages class plaintiffs believe that other of the remaining defendants may be incentivised to engage in settlement negotiations as well.

“Damages class plaintiffs are confident that the substantial co-operation provided by Tennis Australia will help damages class plaintiffs litigate the antitrust claims to a successful jury verdict.”

As details of the settlement emerged on the eve of the Australian Open, the PTPA also issued a strongly worded statement on the deal.

“Our lawsuit challenges a broken system artificially suppressing player compensation, dictating punishing schedules, enforcing restrictive participation requirements, and limiting sponsorship opportunities,” said the statement. “This systematic suppression stifles growth, innovation, and fairness across tennis

“Players at every level recognise the current system fails them. They also recognise reform benefits everyone: players, tournaments, sponsors, fans, and the sport itself.

“Our legal case is backed by comprehensive funding sufficient to last through trial. We have the resources, leadership, strategy, and resolve to prove professional tennis has engaged in unlawful restraints of trade violating antitrust law.

“History shows transformative change in professional sports comes through sustained pressure on anticompetitive structures. The window for reform is now. The choice is stark: shape the future or defend a hopelessly problematic and entangled cartel.

“The PTPA calls on all stakeholders to support comprehensive reform. This is a generational opportunity to reshape professional tennis for the better.”

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