The Tennis Integrity Unit has received notice from the gambling industry of 48 instances of suspicious betting patterns on matches in the first quarter of 2016, the unit announced.
The anti-corruption unit has been controversial and criticized for not taking actions against suspected “rigged” matches and players in the past.
That included a scandal in January when reports surfaced that 16 top-level players have been strongly suspected of rigging matches over the past 10 years. The unit took no action in these alleged cases and there have been calls for the TIU to operate with more transparency.
According to a press release from the TIU, the 48 alerts were an increase over the first quarter of 2015 when 31 suspicious instances were reported. However, it emphasized that these figures represent just 0.2 percent of the 24,110 matches that were played during the three months of 2016.
“Every alert received by the TIU is assessed and followed up as an indicator that something inappropriate may have happened,” the release said.
The TIU said one of the matches under investigation happened at the Australian Open and one on the WTA Tour, while the rest took place at Challengers or Futures tournaments.
The release also updated review of anti-corruption measures within the sport, launched by the Association of Tennis Professionals, the World Tennis Association, the International Tennis Federation and the Grand Slam Board.
“Under the leadership of Adam Lewis QC, the work of the panel to date has included preliminary meetings with the sport’s governing bodies, collation of core documents and contact with persons of interest to obtain relevant information,” said the TIU. “In addition, the panel has identified a list of issues and areas of inquiry and begun a further schedule of interviews and research.”
