The professional tennis tours and two other defendants jointly filed a motion in federal court in New York to dismiss the class-action antitrust lawsuit brought by the Professional Tennis Players’ Association, a group co-founded by Novak Djokovic.
“The PTPA is not a proper plaintiff in this lawsuit. The PTPA lacks associational standing and antitrust standing, and the PTPA’s presence in this lawsuit is not only redundant, but also an improper attempt to circumvent class-action requirements,” Tuesday's filing concludes. "The PTPA should be dismissed as a plaintiff."
The PTPA sued the WTA women's tour, the ATP men's tour, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which oversees anti-doping and anti-corruption efforts in the sport, in March, calling them a “cartel.”
The players are seeking a greater share of revenues and raised various other complaints about how tennis is structured, including limits on prize money and a lack of competition from rival tours or tournaments.
The PTPA was started several years ago by 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil with the aim of representing players who are independent contractors in a largely individual sport.
The group repeatedly has made clear it is not a full-fledged union, does not have members and does not collect dues — all of which are pointed to in the motion as reasons why the PTPA should not be allowed to be a plaintiff in the case.
“The PTPA is improperly conflating its ‘membership’ with the population of top players on whose behalf the PTPA purportedly advocates, some of whom have already publicly disagreed with the PTPA’s advocacy,” the filing reads. “Because the PTPA has failed to plead that these players are actually its members, and in the absence of an alleged injury to any actual PTPA member, the PTPA has no standing.”
That motion came from all four defendants.
A separate motion, filed only by the WTA on Tuesday with the same court, says that the male plaintiffs — 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios, Reilly Opelka and Tennys Sandgren were among those named — should not be suing the women's tour, and also argues that the female plaintiffs — who include Sorana Cirstea and Varvara Gracheva — should be compelled to go to binding arbitration instead of pursuing the court case.
That filing says WTA players agree each to follow the tour's rulebook, "which broadly states that ‘Any Dispute’ shall be ‘submitted exclusively’ to the American Arbitration Association ... for a single arbitrator proceeding."
In a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday, the PTPA said: “There is nothing surprising in their motions. We’ve researched all the issues at length, before filing our case, and look forward to responding in due course and having the judge decide.”
FILE - A tennis ball is tossed in the air, Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Kamala Harris “wrote off rural America" during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient “negative firepower," according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released on Thursday by the Democratic National Committee.
The committee's chair, Ken Martin, shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from frustrated Democratic operatives concerned with his leadership. Martin had originally promised to release the autopsy, only to keep it under wraps for months because he was concerned it would be a distraction ahead of the midterms as Democrats mobilize to take back control of Congress.
On Tuesday, Martin apologized for his handling of the situation and conceded that the report was withheld because it “was not ready for primetime."
Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats' focus on “identity politics,” it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him on the ticket or the party's acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.
“I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” Martin wrote in an essay on Substack on Thursday. “I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it. But transparency is paramount.”
A spokesperson for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The initial reaction from Democratic operatives was a mix of bafflement and anger over Martin's handling of the situation.
“Why not say this in 2024, or bring in more people to finish it, instead of turning this into the dumbest media cycle for 7-8 months?” Democratic strategist Steve Schale wrote on social media.
The postelection report, which was authored by Democratic consultant Paul Rivera, calls for “a renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South, who have come to believe they are not included in the Democratic vision of a stronger and more dynamic America for everyone.”
“Millions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party,” the report says.
The autopsy points to a reduction in support and training for Democratic state parties, voter registration shifts and “a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters.”
Thursday's release comes as Martin confronts a crisis of confidence among party officials who are increasingly concerned about the health of their political machine barely a year into his term. Some Democratic operatives have had informal discussions about recruiting a new chair, even though most believe that Martin’s job wasn't in serious jeopardy ahead of the midterm elections.
The report found that Harris and her allies failed to focus enough on Trump's negatives, especially his felony convictions. This was part of a broader criticism that Democrats' messaging is too focused on reason and winning arguments, “even in cycles when the electorate is defined by rage.”
“There was a decision in the 2024 Democratic leadership not to engage in negative advertising at the scale required,” the report states. “The Trump campaign and supportive Super PACs went full throttle against Vice President Harris, but there was not sufficient or similar negative firepower directed at Trump by Democrats.”
The report continues: “It was essential to prosecute a more effective case as to why Trump should have been disqualified from ever again taking office. The grounds were there, but the messaging did not make the case.”
Trump's attack on Harris' transgender policies were cited as a key contrast.
Specifically, the report suggested the Democratic nominee was “boxed” in by the Trump campaign's “very effective” ad that highlighted Harris' previous statement of support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for prison inmates.
Democratic pollsters believed that “if the Vice President would not change her position – and she did not – then there was nothing which would have worked as a response," the report said.
The report criticized Harris' outreach to key segments of America while condemning the party's focus on “identity politics.”
“Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate. The math doesn’t work,” the report says. “You can’t lose rural areas by overwhelming margins and make it up elsewhere when rural voters are a significant share of the electorate. If Democrats are to reclaim leadership in the Heartland or the South, candidates must perform well in rural turf. Show up, listen, and then do it again.”
The report also references Democrats' underperformance with male voters of color.
“Male voters require direct engagement. The gender gap can be narrowed. Deploy male messengers, address economic concerns, and don’t assume identity politics will hold male voters of color,” it says.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a fireside chat on Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
FILE - Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at DNC headquarters, Jan. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, File)
