Rennae Stubbs believes Novak Djokovic's impending retirement could be stopping him from full-fledged commitment to fight ATP & WTA with PTPA lawsuit

Former doubles No. 1 Rennae Stubbs recently weighed in on Novak Djokovic's decision not to sign his name to PTPA's lawsuit against the ATP and WTA, which demands reform in prize money sharing among other issues. Stubbs believes the Serb is likely to retire next season, which is deterring him from openly supporting PTPA's lawsuits against governing bodies.

PTPA, the Professional Tennis Players Association, co-founded by Djokovic in 2019, filed an antitrust lawsuit against the ATP, WTA, ITF, and, most recently, Grand Slams. The lawsuit highlighted players' demand for a greater revenue share and a say in the hectic schedule. However, the former World No.1's name was not among the plaintiffs, and Djokovic later distanced himself from it, citing a disagreement with some of the filings in the lawsuit.

On an episode of "The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast" published on Sept. 1, Stubbs shared her thoughts on PTPA's fight against the governing bodies and Djokovic's notable absence from the lawsuit. Co-host Caitlin Thompson asked Stubbs what was stopping the Serb from fully committing to the lawsuit, saying (6:34):

"What's interesting about this letter was that Novak Djokovic didn't sign it, so maybe he feels like maybe the PTPA more accurately represents his interests, although notably, he is also not a part of the lawsuit officially filed against the Slams and the Tours. Do you think that he has given up?"

Stubbs replied:

"No? Do you think that he knows and is like, I'm supportive, but I'm not putting my name to it. I think he, do you think, it's because he knows he's going to be retiring in the next twelve."

Several top players, including the current World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, distanced themselves from the lawsuit in March.

"Carlos Alcaraz doesn't complain about the schedule" - Rennae Stubbs backs current World No. 1 amid Novak Djokovic-backed PTPA's lawsuit

Carlos Alcaraz was among the top names added as plaintiffs in the initial lawsuit by the PTPA after the Spaniard complained about the hectic ATP tour schedule. However, Alcaraz said he had no knowledge of the lawsuit and stated that he does not support it.

Despite his complaints about the tennis calendar, the six-time Grand Slam winner has signed up for various exhibition events. In the aforementioned podcast, Rennae Stubbs backed Alcaraz's participation in exhibition events amid the PTPA's ongoing battle with the ATP tour regarding the hectic schedule.

She said (08:57):

"He doesn't complain about the schedule. No, he's the few who doesn't. He doesn't complain about it, And I think that's where he gets away with it a little bit of playing these exhibitions because he's like, I'm not complain...He also doesn't play certain tournaments based on the fact that he doesn't want to."

Alcaraz is confirmed to participate in the second edition of the Six Kings Slam in October and the inaugural Miami Invitational tournament in December.