Tennis Players Association Adds Airport Lounge Partnership
The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) recently signed a partnership agreement with Priority Pass, continuing a series of deals in the travel category.
Facilitated by Winners Alliance, the PTPA’s for-profit affiliate, the deal will give hundreds of tennis pros access to airport lounges in more than 700 cities and 145 countries. The partnership follows related deals with hotel chain Hilton and travel brand Tumi.
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“We are always very sensitive and listening to the athletes we represent and working with the unions that we represent,” Winners Alliance president Eric Winston said in an interview. “The PTPA has been very clear and the players have been very clear about the pain points of playing professional tennis, and one of those big ones is travel.”
PTPA executive committee member Vasek Pospisil previously estimated that travel costs for himself, a coach and a trainer run close to $30,000 annually. “We’re always looking for ways to make our travels more comfortable, and we’re grateful that Priority Pass is committed to supporting players in our day-to-day lives,” he said in a statement.
Priority Pass will likely benefit from players posting about the lounges online. Appearances of pro athletes in the spaces could also be a nice perk for the service, which is operated by Collinson and launched in 1992.
“These athletes deserve to travel with ease of mind and comfort thereby empowering them to play at their highest level,” Collinson Americas president Sheryl Pflaum said in a statement. “This meaningful partnership allows players at all levels equitable access to the full benefits of our program.”
Pospisil co-founded the PTPA with Novak Djokovic in 2020, with a stated mission from the beginning to ease financial burdens on tennis competitors—both men and women. The group brought in former OneTeam Partners CEO Ahmad Nassar as executive director in 2022 and launched its commercial arm around the same time.
Since then, Winners Alliance has also partnered with the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association and discussed plans to develop a new track league.
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