As three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray prepares to bow out from the sport he loves at the Paris Olympics, he could soon be a man in demand
Stats Perform
Updated on: 19 July 2024 1:56 pm
As three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray prepares to bow out from the sport he loves at the Paris Olympics, he could soon be a man in demand. (More Tennis News)
The two-time Wimbledon victor got the fitting tribute his career deserved at his home slam, but not in the circumstances he wanted.
A back injury ruled him out of the singles, and his last match on centre court was a doubles defeat alongside his brother Jamie.
Murray will retire following the summer games, where he hopes to add to his two Olympic golds won at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
But one tennis rival may already have his next career path in mind.
When Vasek Pospisil is not on the court, he is busy pushing for improvements for players off the court with the Professional Tennis Players’ Association.
Co-founded with 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, the PTPA aims to ‘address player challenges and calls for change within the business of professional tennis.’
What started as an idea thought up by Pospisil and Djokovic in 2019 was formally created two years later.
Three years and ‘thousands of hours’ on, players across the ATP and WTA Tours are reaping the rewards.
“The first few years were just growing pains. It was so many thousands of hours. The amount of hours, especially those first three or four years to get some momentum and organise players and just try to get the building blocks in place,” Pospisil told Stats Perform.
“Tennis has a long way to go from the player side. But as a sport, it’s an incredible sport. It’s one-on-one combat.
“That’s why it’s the third or fourth most watched sport in the world. So there’s so much there. And players have been underserviced and it’s time for change. And that’s where we come in.”
“We want hundreds of players to be able to make a living. When I say hundreds, I mean three or 400 on the men’s side and three or 400 on the women’s side.
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“Currently it’s about a hundred on each, right? And that’s unacceptable in a multi-billion dollar industry with the value that these players are bringing to the table.
“In the meantime, we’re trying to generate revenue for players, extra revenue through group licensing programs that hasn’t existed prior to the PTPA.”
Murray, who Pospisil has competed against on six occasions and beaten just once, has long been a voice of reason on the ATP tour, and has gained respect for his support of the WTA.
That hasn’t gone unnoticed by Pospisil, who plans to reach out to the Brit once the curtain comes down on his illustrious career.
“I really like Andy. He was always so nice in the locker room and just a good guy,” he said.
“And I know that in previous years, I’d seen several quotes and articles and in the press where he’d spoken out about the importance of having independent player representation.
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“I haven’t spoken to him in a few years since the start of the PTPA, and it’s something that I definitely want to revisit.
“When you really look under the hood, you look past all the all the nonsense that’s been spewed as a counter argument to why the PTPA shouldn’t exist and why it’s bad for tennis.
“So I think if any reasonable person were to sit down and have a 30-minute conversation listening to the PTPA from the horse’s mouth, I would be shocked if someone were to leave that conversation and say, ‘oh, that doesn’t make sense’.
“I’m going to follow up with Andy and some of these big players that are on their way out. I think it would be great to get their endorsement and get them involved.”
Should Murray take up the offer, he’ll join the likes of Ons Jabeur and Hubert Hurkacz, who sit on the PTPA executive committee.
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Tennis ATP Andy Murray ATP Tour Vasek Pospisil
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