Professional tennis and transnational law: impact on the development and dynamics of the sport

In their latest book "Professional Tennis and Transnational Law" published by Cambridge University Press, Marko Begović and his colleague Ilias Bantekas explore the complex relationship between sport and law, showing the numerous ways in which established legal frameworks in domestic and international regimes influence the development and dynamics of professional sport.

Although the sport of tennis is not strictly regulated by transnational legal processes, the development and functioning of governance structures are precisely the product of transnational processes.

"Regulation of professional sport starts primarily from considering the relationship in the specific case of the three key players in tennis - the ITF, WTA and ATP - with a particular focus on the horizontal level of coordination of global sport governance. These organizations have positioned themselves as monopolists in key profitable activities such as tournament organization, broadcasting rights, branding and image. Despite this, these activities are not exempt from domestic and transnational antitrust regulations, and therefore all their activities must be carefully coordinated to ensure the necessary compliance. Consequently, all three organizations are, as transnational corporate actors, subject to a growing number of regulations. For example, laws with extraterritorial effect, such as the British Modern Slavery Act of 2015, oblige commercial legal entities regardless of their place of registration but which carry out at least part of their business in the United Kingdom, to prepare appropriate reports and statements in order to implement this regulation. On the other hand, the ITF, WTA and ATP apply the UNIDROIT principles of transnational commercial contracting, providing these authorities with the ability to "operates outside the narrow framework of the national character where they were founded," said Begović, who used to play tennis and in 2021 and 2022 served as acting director of the Sports Administration in the Government of Montenegro.

In addition to the above, as stated, the book also analyzes the relationship with the International Olympic Committee, the labor and legal status of tennis players, the position of trade unions, the role of the media, especially social media, intellectual property law, competition protection regulations, dispute resolution, integrity, human rights and the protection of tennis participants.

With the support of international authorities, the book is available to readers in electronic format.