Tennis Australia to cooperate in lawsuit against the 3 other Slams, tours
TA will pay no damages as part of settlement
Hours before the start of the Australian Open, terms of Tennis Australia’s pending settlement with the Professional Tennis Players Association were filed in a New York federal court, and the details are sure to create some awkward moments down under over the next fortnight.,
TA is paying no money–except for $50,000 to cover the cost of notifying the prospective class-but agreed to cooperate with the PTPA in its 10-month-old lawsuit against the other three Slams and the ATP and WTA Tours.
“Tennis Australia will begin providing valuable discovery that [the plaintiffs] may or may not have been ultimately able to obtain from Tennis Australia, which Damages Class Plaintiffs can use in litigating their claims well in advance of Court-ordered discovery against ATP and WTA,” the PTPA’s lawyers wrote in a court filing. “In exchange for a release of liability for monetary damages, Tennis Australia agrees to provide Damages Class Plaintiffs with materials, facts, and other information known to Tennis Australia relevant to Plaintiffs’ claims against the Tour Defendants and Grand Slam Defendants, including information regarding: financial books and records; tournament prize money; player name, image and likeness (“NIL”) rights and uses; player sponsorship and endorsement opportunities; tour scheduling requirements; player Ranking Points; player participation in non-Tour events; player claim enforcement mechanisms; and communications or agreements.”
This cooperation will commence after the Aussie Open as it pertains to the ATP and WTA, and after a ruling on the other three Slams’ motions to dismiss (presuming they are not granted).
The PTPA and 14 players sued the governing bodies, alleging a widespread antitrust conspiracy to reduce prize money, repress player promotional opportunities, and restrict where they can play.
In legal parlance, the TA settlement is known as an “ice-breaker,” meaning it provides plaintiffs with early discovery and gives the settling defendant release from liability.
“ By narrowing the number of Defendants liable for damages in this case, Damages Class Plaintiffs believe that other of the remaining Defendants may be incentivized to engage in settlement negotiations as well,” the PTPA’s lawyers wrote. “Damages Class Plaintiffs are confident that the substantial cooperation provided by Tennis Australia will help Damages Class Plaintiffs litigate the antitrust claims to a successful jury verdict.”
How this will go over inside the small world of professional tennis is unclear, but it will likely upset some relationships.
“Really low move,” one source close to one of the circuits texted when informed of the terms of the settlement.
The settlement must still be approved by the federal court. It is open to any player who has competed in a Slam, or ATP and WTA event since March 18, 2021. Usually in a settlement prospective class members are voting on what they can receive, but there are no damages here. Instead the players are being asked to approve receiving nothing in exchange for the hope that TA’s cooperation will lead to a better case against the other five governing bodies (the owner of Wimbeldon, the All England Club, is not a governing body per se).
The PTPA’s co-founder, Novak Djokovic recently removed himself from the organization, referencing the way the organization used his name and issues with transparency. And no top players have signed on to the lawsuit; the 14 players are lower ranked or retired.
TA settled in part to avoid the steep legal costs it faced. In addition to owning the Australian Open, TA owns several ATP and WTA events that operate in the weeks before the Slam.