Novak Djokovic rebukes Aryna Sabalenka’s boycott threat in prize-money spat

“That’s a true leadership for me and I think she needs to maintain that. I salute that. That’s all I have to say about that.

“We’re all part of the same sport. We all try to elevate the game, whether it’s players, tournaments, governing bodies.

“Unfortunately oftentimes there is a conflict of interest that some people don’t want to address. I think that’s where the players really have the power. I’m always supportive of the stronger player position in the ecosystem.”

On Thursday raised concerns over compensation across tennis’ top events as she prepared for Rome this week.

Djokovic outlines funding problems in tennis

Speaking to the media before the Italian Open, Djokovic was asked for his thoughts on Sabalenka’s remarks.

He replied: “Now is the time to talk about it. I do like the fact that there is more conversations happening on this. It needs to be because players’ position is not where it needs to be with slams, with tours. Just overall it’s not there.

“Hence the reason why I co-founded the players association, PTPA. That was my kind of search for more profound, meaningful solution a little bit outside of a system because the system is set up in such way that it just doesn’t benefit players across all fields.

“You know, also in the past what I notice is many times people would twist particularly my words and say I’m requesting myself for more money, even when I was winning slams. You guys like to put headlines of the Grand Slam winner gets so-and-so, never more in history.

“But we are not talking about the lower-ranked players, the tier one, the ground base level of the tennis players that are struggling. They’re leaving tennis because of no funding.

“We are, I think, the only global sport, if you see all the global sports, I think we’re the only ones that are in this particular situation where we don’t have a certain financial, say, gains or guarantees for the lower-ranked players. I don’t know if it changed since whatever, a few years.

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