Back in 2020, Novak Djokovic co-founded the Professional Tennis Players Association, popularly called the PTPA along with Vasek Pospisil. The organization was created with the aim of addressing the players’ issues and to support them. Five years have gone by and American legend, Andy Roddick isn’t very happy with the PTPA and the way it has functioned. However, the organization announced a major change recently following the doping case of Jannik Sinner. This invited praise from Roddick.

Ever since its inception, the PTPA has been clear of not providing legal counsel itself to the players. Nonetheless, it revealed recently that it will verify the player’s circumstances and help them connect with the two law firms that it has partnered with, King & Spalding and Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

Praising this new initiative, Roddick, on the latest episode of his Served With Andy Roddick podcast, said, “We don’t agree much upon what they’ve done. I question if they’ve done anything and they say they’ve so much. What they are doing with legal advice of doping cases, I think it is fantastic.”

The newly launched program is named the Athlete Counsel & Equity (ACE) Program. This was launched last month and two law firms have signed up for this program. Speaking about this, PTPA Exec Dir Ahmad Nassar said, “The PTPA as an organization, and ACE as a program — neither of those things are about, ‘must prove players innocent. It’s just about having a proper process, which, frankly, should make everybody better.”

Meanwhile, this wasn’t the first time that Roddick blended harsh criticism of the PTPA. Last year, he questioned the organization’s goals, saying, “I’ve had board members text me, and I said, ‘If you had to list your three accomplishments, what would it be?’ It’s like, ‘I don’t know – press releases?’ There was an email that went out. It was like, ‘We have professional photo shoots available for the players.’ But I don’t know what the goals are.”

Further, as Sinner’s doping case was put to rest after he accepted his doping ban, the PTPA issued a strong statement on this matter. The organization was not happy with the lack of transparency in Sinner’s doping case.

Novak Djokovic’s PTPA comes out harsh on WADA

Earlier this month, Sinner came to an agreement with WADA outside the CAS and accepted a three-month doping ban ahead of the hearing in April. As a result, he will be absent from the action from February 9 until May 4. However, question marks erupted about how Sinner escaped with a ban of just three months whereas other players like Simona Halep faced months on the sidelines. As a result, the PTPA issued a strong statement against WADA.

The statement said, “It’s not just the different results for different players. It’s the lack of transparency. The lack of process. The lack of consistency. The lack of credibility in the alphabet soup of agencies charged with regulating our sports and athletes. The lack of commitment from the ATP, WTA, Grand Slams, ITIA, and WADA to reform and create a fair and transparent system going forward. This bias is unacceptable for all athletes and shows a deep disrespect for every sport and its fans. It’s time for change. And we will change it.”

Nonetheless, the PTPA has taken a step in the right direction by connecting the players with the two legal firms. The organization still has a long way to go as far as the support and well-being of the players are concerned.