👋 Welcome back to The Daily Theory, our morning rundown to help you stay on top of your favorite sport. I’m Allen McDuffee, your guide to all things tennis.

On tap today, we’ve got: the PTPA is suing every tennis governing body they can think of, the pressure on Mirra Andreeva and Jack Draper, some significant personnel changes, Katie Boulter takes on Peyton Stearns, plus more tennis news today.

Let’s tennis!

Four Points

🎾 On Tuesday, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), the organization co-founded by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, filed an anti-trust lawsuit against tennis’s most powerful governing bodies, claiming that they act as a “cartel.” The suit, which was filed in Brussels, London, and New York City, names the ATP, the WTA, the ITF, and the ITIA as defendants, arguing the legal action will “reveal how tennis’ corrupt governing bodies systemically abuse, silence, and exploit players to drive personal profits through monopolistic control,” according to a statement announcing the legal action.

  • What the ATP said: Within hours, the ATP hit back with a statement pointing out the progress they’ve made in bringing equity to professional tennis. While some of it is certainly true, one item stood out as disingenuous: “Meanwhile, players — as independent contractors — have retained extensive control over their schedules, allowing them the flexibility to compete, train, and monetize their careers as they see fit.” Just ask any player who has to find a doctor’s note to get out of a mandatory 1000 tournament. And ask any player how they feel about all the 1000 events expanding into two weeks, with some of them putting their finals into a third.
  • What the WTA said: Later in the day, the WTA released its own statement that reads, in part: “The WTA is a nonprofit, membership organization that exists to advance women’s tennis on behalf of players, tournaments and fans. WTA players, as equal members alongside tournaments, have an essential and influential voice in the governance of the WTA. Every decision taken at the WTA Board level includes the input of players via their elected Board representatives, and athletes receive substantial financial rewards and other benefits from participation in the WTA.”
  • Missing the point: The ATP and the WTA are trying to fight another organization seemingly without taking into consideration that actual players are named as co-plaintiffs. Yes, the PTPA is an outside organization. But it’s also made of actual players.
  • Notably missing: Novak Djokovic. He and Vasek Pospisil founded the PTPA, and he remains on the executive committee. However, he is not among the other named player plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

🎾 The double Sunshine Double: There’s the Sunshine Double that goes from Indian Wells to the Miami Open, and then there’s the Sunshine Double expectation that whoever wins in Indian Wells could/should (must!) win in Miami. That’s a tall order and a rarity. Only eleven players have pulled it off. But now we march down that pressure-filled road with Mirra Andreeva and Jack Draper. Are either one ready for it? Andreeva is already on a winning streak of two 1000 events back-to-back. Why not back-to-back-to-back? As for Draper coming off his first 1000 title ever, we’ll have to wait and see how he looks in his first match to really know how he handles the bounce-back from such a high.

  • Women Sunshine Doublers: Steffi Graf (1994, 1996), Kim Clijsters (2005), Victoria Azarenka (2016), Iga Swiatek (2022)
  • Men Sunshine Doublers: Jim Courier (1991), Michael Chang (1992), Pete Sampras (1994), Marcelo Rios (1998), Andre Agassi (2001), Roger Federer (2005, 2006, 2017), Novak Djokovic (2011, 2014, 2015, 2016)

🎾 Unusual timing: On Tuesday, two players announced abrupt coaching changes less than three months into the year. Arthur Fils announced on Instagram that his coach, Sebastien Grosjean — noticeably absent from Indian Wells — will no longer be part of his team. And Alexei Popyrin posted on Instagram that he and coach Xavier Malisse, with whom he won his first Masters 1000 title last year, have mutually agreed to part ways.

  • What Fils said: “By mutual agreement with Sebastien, we have decided to end our collaboration, wrote Fils in French on Instagram. “I thank him for his support during the 15 months he spent on the circuit and wish him the best for the future.”
  • What Popyrin said: “Hey guys, @xavier.malisse and I have mutually decided to stop working together,” Popyrin wrote. “I just want [to] thank X for all the amazing memories, fun vibes and hard work! Thank you X-Man.”

🎾 Another change in personnel: Courtney Nguyen, the senior writer for WTA Insider, is moving on from the organization after nearly a decade on the job, she posted on Bluesky Tuesday evening. This one is going to sting. That’s because while the WTA has had its tumultuous times organizationally, Courtney continued to tell the stories of the incredible women on the WTA Tour. We got to know their ups and downs, their backstories, their inner thoughts as they achieved new heights, and so much more — all because Courtney was there to cover our sport. Some of you may have gotten to connect a name with a face as she helped guide viewers through the tour on Netflix’s Break Point. So, keep an eye out for it. I bet she’s not done with tennis just yet.