Karue Sell recently went viral on social media for announcing his presence in the top 300 of the ATP rankings. However, in the same tweet, the American also revealed the hardships that the lower-ranked players went through.
He appealed to the Professional Tennis Players Association for a change in the system. His tweet gathered tens of thousands of views and ultimately drew a reaction from the executive director of the PTPA – Ahmad Nassar.
The new World No.299 agreed that the players ranked outside the top 50 shouldn’t be earning millions. But, according to Sell, the lower-ranked players were being “robbed across the board.”
Hence, he requested the PTPA to be the voice for players struggling with their finances. Bellow is Sell’s tweet:
Not saying players need to make millions but they are being robbed across the board. Top 50 should make more, 100, 150, 200. There’s money. Would love to see some real change here @ptpaplayers
Without a union players have no say. Just shut up and play
— Karue Sell (@KarueSell) September 23, 2024
In response, Nassar claimed that the “system” was rigged. He also explained how unionizing in tennis was going to be entirely different than other sporting leagues around the world.
As part of his job of overseeing the development of player’s service and advocacy programs, he promised Sell that “change is coming.” His tweet read:
Working on it & will follow up with you. Basically, the whole system is rigged. Short answer on unionizing is that tennis players cannot currently unionize under the law. That’s because tennis players are independent contractors & not employees (unlike NBA, MLB, EPL & NFL… https://t.co/aBsBjmkjAd
— Ahmad Nassar (@ahmad4athletes) September 23, 2024
Nassar’s response got different reactions from the social media users. One user chose to be optimistic about the change promised.
Glad to hear that change is coming. It is much needed.
— V. R. Kris (@RVKristi) September 23, 2024
However, another user claimed that Nassar and the organization would simply make promises that they would not follow up.
Your little organization is just a circle jerk with press releases. You don’t actually do anything or affect change.
— DavidDavidson_3955 (@DavidDa24356441) September 24, 2024
Nassar has often listed the achievements of the PTPA since their conception merely a few years ago. He claimed that the organization was responsible for the ATP’s introduction of the Baseline pay structure in 2023.
Nassar will also aim to silence the doubters by using the PTPA to address the mental health complaints of players from both organizations – ATP and WTA.
