On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams chat with Ahmad Nassar, newly named executive director of the co-ed Professional Tennis Players Association, about the economics of the sport, and how the PTPA plans to unite players to innovate the business.
Nassar took the job earlier this month after more than a decade helping professional athletes monetize their stardom. He spent 10 years at the NFLPA’s commercial arm, before being named founding CEO of OneTeam Partners, a venture that works with players unions and trade groups across global sports.
Nassar details the economics for tennis players outside the Top 50, who need to balance prize winnings with their own travel, healthcare, coaching and accommodations, which generally come out of their own pockets. The PTPA intends to push for more revenue going towards players, but also believes that a unified front from the best men and women in the sport will help every tennis stakeholder make more money.
He also talks about how the sport’s structure differs from major leagues like the NFL and NBA, and how some of those differences will benefit the PTPA, while other could create additional challenges. Lastly, he talks about how LIV Golf has disrupted another global individual sport, and what that disruption means for tennis.
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