Independent review of Tennis Integrity Unit announced
MELBOURNE, Australia – The governing bodies of tennis will review the independent watchdog that is responsible for investigating suspicious activity in tennis, officials announced Wednesday.
The announcement comes in the wake of the BBC-Buzzfeed report released on the eve of the Australian Open. The report indicated that the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) was not sufficiently handling suspicious cases; that it has allowed at least 16 top-50 players to continue playing with no recourse for potential match-fixing.
The BBC-Buzzfeed reporters did not name the players involved, but called on the TIU to review those players’ bank statements, call logs, and other records that could prove involvement or clear their names.
Match-fixing caught even greater attention this week when a mixed-doubles match was reported as suspicious. In response to both stories, TIU officials said they could not comment on on-going investigations. It has since said that it interviewed players involved in the mixed-doubles match.
Created in 2008, the TIU functions independently of the seven governing bodies, but is comprised of officials from within the sport. It has six members and an annual budget of $2 million. ITF president David Haggerty, All England Club chairman Philip Brook, and ATP Tour chairman Chris Kermode spoke at the Wednesday press conference.
“Events of the last ten days have caused damage to our sport. There is no getting away from that,” said Brook. “It is vital we repair the damage and do so quickly which is why we have decided to announce the review.
“We are in a toxic environment for sport at the moment,” Kermode said. “Having lists of suspicious betting patterns do not mean corruption, they are a red flag and that is not evidence.”
Players have offered their advice on ways to improve and maintain the integrity of the sport. Andy Murray was most outspoken about offering better education to young players – a suggestion that the officials seem keen to follow. Others suggested increasing the TIU budget, another recommendation being strongly considered. There is also talk of bringing in an outside auditor. The players all seem to agree that the TIU should, at the very least, be more transparent.
“We are determined to do anything we need to remove corruption from our sport,” Brook said. They took the first step in doing at the end of the joint statement, calling on authorities to cooperate. “Given the seriousness of the issue, we call on all governments worldwide to make match-fixing a distinct criminal offense, resourced by national crime fighting agencies working in cooperation with sports integrity boards and other relevant stakeholders,” the statement said.
The review will be led by London lawyer Adam Lewis, considered among the top sports law experts in the U.K.
