Tennis Authorities Dismiss Match-fixing Allegations

(ATR) The International Tennis Federation has rejected accusations the Tennis Integrity Unit suppressed evidence of match-fixing amid allegations of corruption involving elite players over the past decade.

The BBC and BuzzFeed News reported Monday that secret files they have obtained contain evidence of suspected match-fixing in tennis. They reported that 16 players – including winners of Grand Slam titles – who were ranked in the world's top 50 over the past decadewere repeatedly flagged to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) over suspicions they fixed matches. None of them were sanctioned.

No players were named because of libel issues but the report said that eight players investigated during the past decade are among those in the main draw for the Australian Open which opened Monday in Melbourne.

The ITF said a year-long investigation into the suspicious betting activity around the Sopot match in 2007 between Nikolay Davydenko and Martin Vassallo Arguello "found insufficient evidence". Both players were cleared but the inquiry expanded and found betting syndicates in Russia, northern Italy and Sicily making hundreds of thousands of dollars putting money on matches thought to be fixed, three of which were at Wimbledon.

ATP chairman Chris Kermode dismissed the suggestion that match-fixing was overlooked, emphasizing the vigilance of the International Tennis Federation’s integrity unit. "The Tennis Integrity Unit and tennis authorities absolutely reject any suggestion that evidence of match-fixing has been suppressed for any reason or isn't being thoroughly investigated," he said.

The four governing bodies of tennis – ITF, ATP, WTA and Grand Slam Board – are partners in the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) and today insisted "they are and will continue to be firmly committed to protecting the integrity of the sport".

"Tennis remains fully committed to meeting the challenge that all sports face from corrupt betting practices," Kermode, speaking on behalf of the partners, said in a statement. "We have stringent procedures and sanctions in place to deal with any suspected corruption and have shown we will act decisively when our integrity rules are broken."

The Tennis Integrity Unit’s anti-corruption investigations have resulted in 18 successful disciplinary cases including five mainly lower-ranked players and one official who have been banned for life.

World No.1 players including Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, speaking to reporters at the Australian Open today, denied there was a match-fixing problem at the top of the game.

"I don’t think a shadow is cast over our sport. People are talking about names, guessing who these players are. But there’s no real proof or evidence yet of any active players, forthat matter," he told a news conference.

But Djokovic admitted for the first time that he was offered $200,000 to fix a match in Petersburg in 2007. "I was approached through people that were working with me at that time, that were with my team. Of course, we threw it away right away. It didn’t even get to me. There was nothing out of it," he was quoted by the Guardian newspaper.

Djokovic pointed to the improved anti-corruption monitoring system put in place by the International Tennis Federation.

Kermode said "no player or official is immune from investigation, regardless of their status or position in the sport."Investigations follow where evidence leads. All professional players, support staff and officials are subject to the terms of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) which equips the TIU with substantial investigative powers."

He added: "No player or official is ever cleared by the TIU of potential involvement in corruption. By its very nature, corruption is difficult to prove, so while the process can often be lengthy, the TIU will continue to pursue evidence where it believes it is warranted."

Kermode noted that the ITF was "open and willing to upgrade any or all of the anti-corruption systems we have in place if we need to".

ASOIF Corruption Check

The ITF will be asked by the summer Olympic sports umbrella association to re-examine its anti-corruption procedures in the coming months.ASOIF’s new governance task force, launched recently to raise the standards of its 28 member sports, will meet again next week to finalise evaluation criteria for IFs to self-assess the way they are run.

Rules on match-fixing and irregular betting are among a list of 20-plus criteria the IFs will be asked to evaluate once the model is approved at ASOIF’s general assembly in April.

"We are putting together a self-assessment for our IFs to gauge whether their governance is robust or not," ASOIF director Andrew Ryan tells Around the Rings."It’s one thing to have the rules and regulations in place but it’s really important how you instill the correct culture in the organisation to make sure it works."

Ryan flagged the ITF as one of the leading sport’s tackling corruption issues thanks to its integrity system staffed by experts from within and outside sport.ASOIF will check the feedback from federations and plans to put support mechanisms in place to "constantly monitor" and help improve their governance, Ryan added.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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