Djokovic appears unexpectedly in the new creation of the Grand Slams

Carlos Navarro - 29 Sep 2026 | 11:06
Novak Djokovic Grand Slam Ben Shelton Iva Jovic Aryna Sabalenka

The Serbian is one of the names included in the new Grand Slam Player Council, which aims to improve conditions for his colleagues. Who did he join?

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Djokovic will be part of the new Player Council.

Novak Djokovic is once again getting involved in the welfare and working conditions of his fellow players on the circuit. The Serbian will be part of, and become the most recognizable face of, the new Grand Slam Player Council, whose main objective is to provide information, coordinate proposals, and ultimately have a say in future decisions and structures in the world’s most important tennis tournaments: Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and US Open.

This new body was one of the new developments announced by the Grand Slams after significant pressure from players in recent months. They refused to engage in lengthy press conferences, actively and passively expressed their dissatisfaction with the current revenue distribution and lack of participation in the Majors... and ultimately achieved small steps in the form of responses, including this Grand Slam Player Council, of which Djokovic will be a part, actively engaging once again in the fight for players' rights after his exhausting experiences as part of the PTPA and, nearly a decade ago, as president of the ATP Player Council.

Which players will join Djokovic in the Grand Slam Player Council?

The voice of the players will be strongly represented in this council, with six players from each circuit, ensuring equality between ATP and WTA in the status of those chosen. Notably, the presence of Aryna Sabalenka is emphasized, who has previously taken a stand against the Grand Slams; she is joined by someone who is not usually so outspoken in press conferences, Elena Rybakina, who also shows her commitment to her peers by occupying one of these seats.

Those who will not be present are their counterparts in the men's circuit: neither Carlos Alcaraz, who spoke about the protests at the time, supported them, but announced that he would step back from this process and would not place his name on future letters and petitions, nor Jannik Sinner, who was also very critical at Roland Garros this season but prefers not to be tied to these causes. Neither of them will want to spend their time in an organization about which we still have too many uncertainties. How will they enact real change? How much time will it demand from the players? How often will they meet to discuss with the Grand Slams?

These are unanswered questions that we hope the other members of this Council will clarify for us someday. Lastly, another notable name returning in a role like this is Alexander Zverev, who was also part of the ATP Player Council and will now be one of the twelve selected in this endeavor. Twelve names to further support players in the four most important tournaments in the world. Will they achieve real change?

This is the Grand Slam Player Council

  • WTA Representatives: Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Elina Svitolina, Iva Jovic, Maria Sakkari

  • ATP Representatives: Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Novak Djokovic, Lorenzo Musetti, Arthur Rinderknech

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Djokovic aparece de forma inesperada en la nueva creación de los Grand Slams