Good morning and Happy New Year, Court Theorists! ☕️🥳
Today’s tennis mood: Eager + a bit of cringe.
We’re all (presumably) back to our regularly scheduled program today, and that includes the first edition of The Daily Theory for 2026. During the holiday break, we here at Court Theory HQ have been hard at work migrating to a new publishing platform and preparing a bunch of new content, including a refresh of The Daily Theory. Keep your eyes peeled as we roll out the new changes over the course of this week.
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Let’s tennis!
-Allen
Four Points
🎾 An ace down the tee: Novak Djokovic has pulled away from the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) — the organization he co-founded with Vasek Pospisil in 2019 — per a statement from Djokovic released on Sunday.
What he said: “After careful consideration, I have decided to step away completely from the Professional Tennis Players Association,” Djokovic posted on social media. “This decision comes after ongoing concerns regarding transparency, governance, and the way my voice and image have been represented.” He added: “I am proud of the vision that Vasek (Pospisil) and I shared when founding the PTPA, giving players a stronger, independent voice – but it has become clear that my values and approach are no longer aligned with the current direction of the organization.”
Previously: In reality, Djokovic had been distancing himself from the PTPA for some time, which became blatantly clear when he said it was time for other players to step up and take on leadership roles — and when he declined to be named as a plaintiff in the PTPA’s antitrust lawsuits against the sport’s governing bodies.
🎾 A response?: Not to be outdone, the PTPA released its own opaque statement later in the day without mentioning names, what it was in response to, or what specific actions they were referring to.
What they said: “As part of its mission, the PTPA initiated litigation against the tours and Grand Slams to advance reforms related to governance, transparency, and player rights. As a result, we have been targets of a coordinated defamation and witness intimidation campaign through the spreading of inaccurate and misleading narratives intended to discredit the PTPA, its staff, and its work. A federal court has already ruled this type of harassment improper and ordered it to cease,” the PTPA posted. “We are working closely with legal counsel, law enforcement and players to evaluate all available options to address the spread of misinformation. These attacks from non-player third parties will not distract us from our mission: pursuing meaningful reforms for all players.”
🎾 Coco’s comments: Coco Gauff landed in some hot water when some comments she made about American tennis fans around the world boiled over overnight while she was asleep in Australia. And it may have had an impact on her level of tennis.
What she said: “I feel like we’re definitely, in the tennis department, the worst,” Gauff said during press at the United Cup. “I’ve always said I wish our country in other places would show up throughout the world, as we see maybe smaller countries support,” Gauff said, adding: “But I also think it’s just because our country is good at so many sports, so it’s just hard. I definitely think there are Americans that come out more in Melbourne than necessarily here (Perth), but I would like to see some more Americans in Sydney — if we make it to Sydney — than there were last year.”
A misunderstanding: Some fans took Gauff’s comments to mean American fans writ large and took issue with the cost and other difficulties of travel for Americans to go to Australia. The replies to Gauff’s words were often harsh. Just before taking court against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, she attempted to clarify that she was referring to American fans who are already in the countries where they are playing.
The result? Gauff looked distracted during her match. She quickly found herself down 6-1, 4-1 before stealing the second set, and losing 6-0 in the third. She got it together in time for mixed doubles with Christian Harrison to send the U.S. to the quarterfinals.
