An ex-tennis player from South America has told the BBC that match-fixing is commonplace and even some elite players are "a little bit dirty in some way," according to the BBC. He also claimed fixing is "not just limited to lower-ranked professionals" and is "a secret that everybody knows." The player, who requested anonymity, said tennis authorities "know who is doing it" but are unwilling to stop it. The player claimed "three big groups" control betting in tennis and that "any payments to players are made using cash, with no bank-to-bank transfers allowed." He added, "Each group has many guys who go to talk to players. They have many guys inside the circuit." When asked how "you know who is involved," the player said, "You know who is doing it and who is not. As a player, I know who is missing on purpose or returning a shot in the middle on purpose ... who is trying, and who is not. So we work on this. We know." When asked "why not go to the authorities?" he said, "We could co-operate with Tennis Integrity if we wanted to, but they don't want it to be stopped." He added, "They [the authorities] know exactly who is doing it and, if they wanted to stop it, they could stop it today. It's super-easy. They just don't want to do it" (BBC, 1/19).
SEEKING ANSWERS: In London, Ben Rumsby reported tennis's leaders "are to be ordered before Parliament to explain their actions over the match-fixing controversy that has engulfed the sport, it emerged on Tuesday night." The U.K. Culture, Media & Sport select committee was on Tuesday "planning to announce a hearing into claims that the authorities failed to take formal action" against dozens of players suspected of corruption during the past decade -- including at Wimbledon. The committee "is expected to examine evidence submitted by a joint BBC and BuzzFeed investigation into match-fixing in tennis," which also implicated grand slam champions and eight players at the ongoing Australian Open. Officials from the Tennis Integrity Unit "would be called to testify in person in front of the committee." The Association of Tennis Professionals "could also be quizzed, along with the investigators who compiled a 2008 report that was leaked to the BBC and BuzzFeed, as well as senior figures from some of Britain’s biggest bookmakers" (TELEGRAPH, 1/19). Also in London, Simon Briggs reported Kermode is "understood to be the man leading the push for an expansion" in resources for the TIU, a "common suggestion that has been made by most of the leading players" in the wake of the recent match-fixing scandal. Kermode did not confirm that, but he said, “We’re reviewing the way the TIU works, as we do anyway, and looking even more closely at how it’s resourced." Kermode: “The Tennis Integrity Unit is an independent body and it is not just working for the ATP, but for the seven governing bodies: us, the Women’s Tennis Association, the International Tennis Federation and the four grand slams. That’s one reason why it is ludicrous to suggest that there is a cover-up going on here." He added, “I can’t say it strongly enough or often enough: we reject any suggestion that match-fixing evidence has been suppressed for any reason" (TELEGRAPH, 1/19).
INTERNAL SQUABBLING DOWN UNDER: In Sydney, McDonald & Smith reported the Australian Sports Commission will "closely monitor the internal political fight within Tennis Australia that led to the abrupt resignation of three directors on the eve of the Australian Open." Former Tour players Kerryn Pratt and Janet Young, along with Tasmanian businessman Peter Armstrong, resigned last Friday "with immediate effect." The internal squabbling comes "despite the sport appearing to boom in Australia with high participation rates," an annual A$300M ($207M) business, and the "rejuvenation of men’s tennis" with the emergence of Nick Kyrgios, Bernard Tomic and Thanasi Kokkinakis. The departures followed another two directors, Harold Mitchell and Scott Tanner, "who walked out the door in October." Tennis sources said that there was a "growing push" among a section of the TA board to replace VP Chris Freeman and "then ultimately make a move on the president" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 1/21).
DJOKOVIC SPEAKS OUT: In London, Kevin Mitchell reported Novak Djokovic has "vehemently denied allegations in an Italian newspaper he had deliberately lost a match" against the French player Fabrice Santoro at the Paris Masters in '07. He "seemed surprised by a barrage of questions about a match that took place nine years ago." Santoro won that match 6-3, 6-2 with Wednesday’s Tuttosport claiming Djokovic "voluntarily lost." The late-night exchange between Djokovic and the media "was tense, with several embarrassing pauses" as he described the allegations as "absurd" and untrue. Djokovic said, "I have nothing more to say. I said everything I needed to say two days ago. You know, until somebody comes out with the real proof and evidence, it’s only a speculation for me." Tuttosport claimed the allegations "were found in documents that are part of an investigation into match-fixing by prosecutors in Cremona" but they did not present any of the documents "or any other supporting evidence and stressed Djokovic was not under investigation" (GUARDIAN, 1/20).
DEEP TIES: In N.Y., Futterman, Robinson & Perrotta reported the leaders of the sport’s top tours and governing bodies are "facing criticism" for the "increasing amount of money they are collecting, either directly or indirectly, from the gambling industry." For the first time at the Australian Open, electronic advertising boards at the tournament are carrying the logo for William Hill, a U.K.-based bookmaker that offers "a range of wagers on tennis." But one of the "most lucrative gambling-aided deals" came last year, when the Int'l Tennis Federation signed a five-year, $70M pact with Swiss-based data company Sportradar. The deal gave Sportradar "exclusive access to real-time scores and statistics at ITF tournaments -- information that is of greatest value to gamblers and bookmakers." Sportradar "declined to specify whether gamblers and bookmakers were their main customers." A spokesperson said, "The ITF puts on approximately 60,000 tennis matches per year all across the world and there is a huge appetite for the data from those matches" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/19).
