Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Tennis Governing Bodies Conspired to Suppress Player Compensation

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges a conspiracy to eliminate competition among the main governing bodies for professional tennis has resulted in artificially suppressed compensation for players.

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Named as defendants in the 163-page antitrust lawsuit are the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), and the ATP Tour and WTA Tour, which operate the men’s and women’s professional tennis tours, respectively.

The complaint was filed by 12 professional tennis players who claim to be stuck in a “rigged game” characterized by capped earnings, restrictive schedules, limited control over their careers, abusive anti-corruption and anti-doping investigations and arbitrary discipline designed to keep them in line.

“This is because a cartel of tour organizers and tournament operators have conspired to avoid competition amongst themselves and to shut out outside tournaments, affording them complete control over the players’ pay and working conditions,” the case contends.

According to the filing, the ITF, ATP, WTA and ITIA have agreed with each other and dozens of alleged co-conspirators to cap the prize money players can receive from tournaments. The defendants also limit the ability of players to earn money off the court by requiring them to sign over certain name, image, and likeness rights and restricting their freedom to contract for sponsorship deals in order to compete in their tournaments, the suit contends.

“These restrictions allow Defendants and their co-conspirators to preserve the value of endorsement deals for themselves, free from competition with individual players,” the tennis antitrust lawsuit says. “Together, these restrictions—especially when coupled with the prize money caps—artificially restrain players’ earnings to the Defendants’ benefit.”

Per the lawsuit, the defendants and their co-conspirators maintain their industry dominance through compulsory attendance rules—e.g., suspending players who withdraw from their events and fining those who compete in alternative tournaments. The case argues that the ATP and WTA ranking systems—which are based on points earned solely on events officially affiliated with these tours and used to determine tournament qualifications, seedings, compensation opportunities, and more—also serve as anticompetitive restraints.

The complaint charges that in a fair market, tournament organizers would naturally compete against each other by offering higher prize money to attract the best talent and by putting on higher-quality events to draw in more fans. Instead, the defendants “hand-pick” which organizers may host professional tournaments and assign designated calendar weeks and geographic regions for events to take place, shielding tournaments from competition for athlete participation and fan viewership, the case says.

“In short, Defendants’ dominant and restrictive control of every aspect of the sport allows them to serve as gatekeepers to the world of professional tennis, to the harm of players and fans alike,” the complaint states. “These actions harm players, the public, and competition itself, and are in blatant violation of federal and state law.”

The lawsuit looks to represent all current, former and future tennis players who competed in any ITF-, ATP- or WTA-sanctioned tennis tournament since March 18, 2025.

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