Daniele Bracciali last month was banned from tennis for life after he was found guilty of match-fixing
The long awaited Independent Review of Integrity in Tennis has concluded that the ITF failed to perform effective due diligence on the effects of selling scoring data from tens of thousands of matches at the lowest pro levels of the sport. The review, which was released yesterday, calls for the cessation of selling data from these lower-tier events and the elimination of gambling sponsorships at all pro events. The report did not find an integrity problem at the higher levels of the sport, like the ATP, WTA and Grand Slams. The ITF first entered into a data deal in '11 and then again in '15 with Sportradar. The ITF renewed with Sportradar for $70M through '20 (Daniel Kaplan, THE DAILY). In N.Y., Ben Rothenberg notes the Independent Review Panel had "issued a preliminary report in April, after which it consulted with the tennis governing bodies and their watchdog group, the Tennis Integrity Unit, about the implementation of its 12 recommendations." Yesterday's report "cited an incentive structure in which many players with little hope of professional advancement can be tempted into accepting offers to contrive outcomes in matches, which often exceed the paltry compensation for winning matches." The ITF, ATP, WTA and the four Grand Slam tournaments in a joint statement said, “We will now work collectively to prioritize timely implementation of the Panel’s final integrity and governance recommendations.” The ITF has already "overhauled the lowest level of sanctioned professional tennis, with a new developmental system called the ITF World Tennis Tour beginning next year." The ATP also had previously "announced changes to its midlevel tournaments -- the Challenger Tour" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/20).
COULD HAVE DONE MORE: TENNIS LIFE's Stephanie Myles noted the report "didn’t find" that the governing bodies and the Tennis Integrity Unit "did anything wrong." However, it "does note that there were umpteen things they didn’t do." The TIU has "successfully prosecuted 59 cases" since '09. Notably, 23 of those "came since the Interim Report was published" in April. One criticism the panel "leveled upon the TIU is that it has, incredibly, failed to hire a betting analyst." The report also noted the ITF already has "banned its events from accepting sponsorships from betting companies." It goes "without saying those would be the lower-tier events that would need that revenue the most," and so, the WTA and ATP "should be able to do the same" (TENNIS.LIFE, 12/19).
