Tennis Reviews Anti-Corruption Program

(ATR) Tennis authorities launched a review of anti-corruption measures in a bid to restore the sport’s tarnished image after match-fixing allegations.

It follows an investigation by BBC and BuzzFeed News which uncovered evidence of suspected match-fixing in tennis over the past decade. Last week, they reported that 16 top-50 ranked players – including winners of Grand Slam titles – were repeatedly flagged to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) over suspicions they fixed matches. None of them were sanctioned.

Leaders of tennis’s governing bodies – ATP, WTA, ITF and the Grand Slam Board – on Wednesday announced that the independent review would be headed by Adam Lewis QC, a leading expert on sports law in London.

The review panel will examine and report on the "appropriateness and effectiveness" of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program and make recommendations for change. The assessment will take into account public commentary regarding the processes, procedures and resources of the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU).

Key questions for the review include: How the TIU can be more transparent without compromising the TIU’s need for investigative confidentiality; additional resources for the TIU both within the unit and at tournaments and structural and/or governance changes that enhance the independence of the TIU.

The review coincides with the evaluation of sports governance by the summer Olympic sports umbrella association (ASOIF) launched this month. A task force is assessing the 28 sports across a number of areas including measures to combat match-fixing and illegal betting. The results of ASOIF’s review will be presented at its general assembly in Lausanne in April.

Tennis authorities today promised to make the recommendations public and to implement and fund all the actions recommended by Lewis’s panel. He will be assisted by two other officials handpicked by him to reflect the global nature of the sport. The review panel will provide an interim and full report to the governing bodies of international tennis.

"This review will build on the 2008 Environmental Report that saw tennis become one of the first major sports to establish its own dedicated anti-corruption unit," said a joint statement from the tennis governing bodies, which include the signature of International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty.

All professional players, support staff and officials are subject to the terms of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program which equips the TIU with substantial investigative powers. These include the right to interview any relevant person of interest and obtain their telephone, computer and bank records.

Since 2010, the Tennis Integrity Unit-instigated anti-corruption investigations have resulted in 18 successful disciplinary cases being brought forward including life bans for five players and one official.

"We are in a toxic environment for sport at the moment. We want to be as open and transparent as possible to demonstrate that we will look at this thoroughly. There is a zero, zero tolerance for this," Chris Kermode, chairman of the Association of Tennis Professionals, was quoted by the BBC.

"Having lists of suspicious betting patterns do not mean corruption. They are a red flag and that is not evidence."

Tennis leaders also called on all governments worldwide to make match-fixing a criminal offense.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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