'Things need to change' - Kyrgios hails 'special moment' as PTPA lawsuit filed

Nick Kyrgios said the time for change and for players to be heard had come after the union set up by Novak Djokovic launched legal action against tennis' governing bodies.

Formally founded by Djokovic and Canada's Vasek Pospisil in 2021, the Professional Tennis Players Association cites its mission as supporting and safeguarding professional tennis players.

But it has found driving change from outside the system very difficult and is now taking a legal route against the ATP, WTA, International Tennis Federation and International Tennis Integrity Agency, which oversees the sport's anti-doping and anti-corruption system.

Kyrgios is among 12 current and former players listed as plaintiffs along with the PTPA in the US suit in New York.

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"I felt people knew something was going on behind the scenes for a long time," he told Sky Sports. "We wanted to do something like this for the future of tennis.

"I know the players and myself aren't happy with the structures and everything that is going on in tennis at the moment.

"There are over 100 pages doctrine that people can read for more information. I don't want to go into all the details but I've been as involved as I can be with everything I've got going on.

"This will be a special moment in tennis, for sure. Things needed to change. It's a big day for tennis."

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 the PTPA branded anti-doping practices an invasion of privacy.

"We're the only sport in the world that doesn't have a players' association," Kyrgios added.

"The PTPA's first goal was to get the players to be heard. I feel like we don't get heard. For instance, we're using different balls pretty much every week, things that absolutely shouldn't be happening in a high, professional sport.

"The ATP just had so much power, they don't have to show anything to anyone. Now things will have to change, they will have to show things, how things operate, and that's when people really realise that is hasn't really been done correctly for many years.

"I don't think players ultimately have been very happy with what they earn on the tour comparatively to other sports and that's definitely one of the main reasons."

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