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AO Live: Tennis Australia's settlement in sport's "civil war"
SEN • January 19th, 2026 10:10 am
Welcome to day two of the opening grand slam of the year. Day two is upon us with Alex de Minaur set to get his campaign under way along with seven other Aussies.
As we get set for another day of scorching weather in Melbourne, there's news on the civil war front with Tennis Australia settling with the Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA).
In November, The First Serve explained Tennis Australia's push to break away from the other three Grand Slams in an effort to settle a lawsuit filed by the PTPA against multiple governing bodies, including the ATP and WTA, for matters such as player welfare and prize money.
Then, at the end of 2025, TA issued a public statement to confirm that an agreement had been reached to settle a lawsuit with the PTPA.
"Tennis Australia today confirmed it has reached agreement to settle the class action lawsuit filed in New York District Court earlier this year, without admitting any liability or wrongdoing. The settlement remains subject to final documentation and court approval processes.
"The plaintiffs' lawyers have applied to the court to continue the stay of proceedings against Tennis Australia while settlement documentation is completed.
"Early resolution allows Tennis Australia to focus entirely on delivering an outstanding Australian summer of tennis and continuing to invest in the growth of our sport."
Nearly four weeks later, the PTPA provided an update on the settlement arrangement.
"The Professional Tennis Players Association and Player Plaintiffs have secured an early-stage settlement with Tennis Australia. The agreement provides invaluable consultation on the future of the tennis industry and litigation cooperation, strengthening our case. The settlement demonstrates the merits of our claims and signals that the remaining Defendants may find it in their interest to engage promptly with reform," the statement read.
"Our lawsuit challenges a broken system artificially suppressing player compensation, dictating punishing schedules, enforcing restrictive participation requirements, and limiting sponsorship opportunities. This systematic suppression stifles growth, innovation, and fairness across tennis.
"Players at every level recognise the current system fails them. They also recognise reform benefits everyone: players, tournaments, sponsors, fans, and the sport itself.
"Our legal case is backed by comprehensive funding sufficient to last through trial. We have the resources, leadership, strategy, and resolve to prove professional tennis has engaged in unlawful restraints of trade, violating antitrust law.
"History shows transformative change in professional sports comes through sustained pressure on anticompetitive structures. The window for reform is now. The choice is stark: shape the future or defend a hopelessly problematic and entangled cartel.
"The PTPA calls on all stakeholders to support comprehensive reform. This is a generational opportunity to reshape professional tennis for the better."
