By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday April 14, 2025
Issues proceed to be tense between the ATP and the PTPA.
On Friday the dueling organizations had been in court docket in Manhattan, the place the PTPA was pursuing a gag order in opposition to the ATP.
Reilly Opelka, certainly one of 12 ATP gamers which are named within the PTPA’s lawsuit in opposition to the tour, which went public on March 18, called in from Barcelona to testify, saying that he was approached by a member of the ATP’s Participant Council in Miami, with the participant warning him that he might lose his pension and be slowed down by authorized charges if he continued with the case.
Final month, a bunch of tennis gamers sued the ATP and WTA, accusing them of a variety of antitrust violations.That group just lately alleged that the ATP is coercing gamers to rebuke the lawsuit.
Reilly Opelka mentioned he was threatened by the ATP for supporting the lawsuit
— Entrance Workplace Sports activities (@FOS) April 12, 2025
Opelka mentioned that the participant, whom he wouldn’t identify attributable to worry of retribution, was requested by ATP CEO Andrea Gaudenzi to ship the information. The ATP and its attorneys say that Opelka is mendacity, however they did admit to going out and searching for ATP gamers who had been prepared to disavow the PTPA’s lawsuit on the day after it was began.
According to Front Office Sports, ATP Board Member Luben Pampoulov testified he requested gamers on the Miami Open to signal a press release disavowing the lawsuit. They stopped circulating the petition when the PTPA’s gag movement was filed. Just one participant – American Ben Shelton – signed it.
Vasek Pospisil was within the courtroom and said that the gamers worry retribution from the ATP. In response to the reviews, the ATP is rumored to be prepared to spend between $50 and $100 million on the case. Included in Tour bylaws is a be aware that claims that gamers are required to pay their very own authorized charges in the event that they sue the Tour and lose.
In response to Entrance Workplace Sports activities, the decide gave each side every week to file new briefs on the gag movement, and mentioned she would rule shortly after.
