"Another Novak Djokovic narcissistic play" - Fans react to insider's bold claim about PTPA lawsuit ft. Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula & others

Tennis insider Ben Rothenberg recently claimed that the Novak Djokovic-led PTPA had not reached out to Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, and other WTA stars regarding the class action lawsuits it filed against the ITF, ATP, WTA and ITIA. The claim stemmed from his interactions with WTA players in Charleston ahead of this year's Credit One Charleston Open. It has prompted many fans to come up with their reactions.

Rothenberg, a noted tennis insider and journalist, stated that six WTA players denied being contacted by the PTPA for their opinions before filing the lawsuits. Rothenberg named Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Amanda Anisimova, Belinda Bencic, Zheng Qinwen, and Ajla Tomljanovic as the players via two separate posts on X (formerly Twitter). Earlier, some other prominent names had similar answers when asked about the subject at the recently-concluded Miami Open.

"Asked a bunch of players during pre-tournament media here in Charleston if they'd had contact with the PTPA about what they're doing... Anisimova: No Bencic: No Keys: No Pegula: No Zheng Qinwen: No 0-for-5. Preliminary census results here and Miami haven't been auspicious," Rothenberg wrote.

"One more: Tomljanovic: No. 0-for-6," he added later via a separate post.

Several fans on X were quick to react to Rothenberg's revelations, as they ridiculed a claim that the PTPA itself repeatedly has made. The PTPA has stated that it reached out to over 300 players before going ahead with filing the lawsuits. Some fans sarcastically suggested that Novak Djokovic, a co-founder of the organization, is the only player who knew of the lawsuits beforehand.

"Apparently the only player who knows anything about it is Novak Djokovic lmfao," a fan wrote.

"So it was another Djokovic narcissistic play all along?" questioned one fan.

"Sounds more like Djokovic's pet project at this point," another commented.

Others blatantly called out the PTPA and its Executive Director, Ahmad Nassar, who has been at the forefront of explaining the organization's decision to pursue legal action against the ITF, ATP, WTA and ITIA.

"The PTPA has nothing to do with a players’ union. Not even close," opined one fan.

"I’m sorry but Nassar comes off as completely untrustworthy I don’t buy any of what he’s selling, it’s a shame because players need actual representation to achieve goals which are at a min revenue sharing as well as scheduling and I think his interests are purely self serving $," another chimed in.

"Meanwhile Ben Rothenberg confirms what we have been saying since the beginning. The players were not notified by the PTPA," weighed in yet another fan.

The lawsuits have controversially accused the tennis governing bodies of operating akin to a 'cartel' with a 'draconian' system that harms players more than it helps them. Interestingly though, when Djokovic himself was asked about it, he laid bare that he agrees with some parts of the lawsuits but disagrees with others.

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Novak Djokovic spoke up about PTPA lawsuit ahead of Miami Open 2025 campaign

Novak Djokovic (Source: Getty)

After news of the PTPA's class action lawsuits broke and polarized the tennis world, Novak Djokovic was quizzed about his thoughts on the controversial development. The former No. 1 and 24-time Major champion, while supporting the PTPA's ambition of ensuring better representation and influence of players, expressed his disagreement over certain aspects of the lawsuits without naming them.

"I really hope that all the governing bodies, including PTPA, will come together and solve these issues. This is a classic lawsuit, so lawyers to lawyers, type of situation. So to be quite frank with you, there are things that I agree with in the lawsuit, and then there are also things that I don’t agree with," Djokovic said at a pre-tournament press conference ahead of the 2025 Miami Open.

The PTPA lawsuits suffered a recent blow after Jay Clarke, a British player, withdrew his name from the list of plaintiffs, citing dissatisfaction with the way that the organization has taken action against the tennis governing bodies.