Tennis match-fixing scandal: Grand Slam chiefs launch review to repair damage from claims

The governing bodies of tennis and the four Grand Slams today responded to allegations of match-fixing and cover-ups by announcing an independent review of the sport’s anti-corruption programme.

Adam Lewis QC, a London-based expert on sports law, will select two other people to join a three-person panel who will have carte blanche to examine every aspect of the way tennis is policed. The review will be given whatever funding it requires by the governing bodies, who have financed the sport’s Tennis Integrity Unit since it was set up to fight corruption eight years ago.

The tennis authorities also promised to implement whatever recommendations the panel suggest and to make the findings public. There is no deadline for the review to be completed but Lewis will produce an interim report.

“Ten days ago the work of the Tennis Integrity Unit was called into question by an investigatory BBC programme,” said Philip Brook, the chairman of both Wimbledon and the Tennis Integrity Board. “It was widely written about and has caused damage to our sport. It is vital that we repair this damage quickly.”

Chris Kermode, the executive chairman and president of the Association of Tennis Professionals, agreed that it had been important to react quickly to what he described as “very, very serious allegations”.

While all the leaders of the governing bodies believe in the work of the TIU and reject the BBC’s suggestion that corruption is “widespread” in the upper reaches of the game, they are well aware of the recent crises that have engulfed other sports, such as football and athletics. In particular they have seen how those sports have been criticised for not opening themselves up to independent scrutiny.

Kermode said: “We’re in a toxic environment for sport at the moment. It’s an easy target for people to have a go at with recent allegations at other governing bodies. We want to be as open as possible to demonstrate that we will look at this thoroughly. There is a zero, zero tolerance for this in our game.

“It is unprecedented that the seven stakeholders of tennis have come together so quickly with one purpose and that’s with the sole aim to restore public confidence in our sport.”

The investigation by the BBC and BuzzFeed said it had identified 16 players suspected of fixing matches, all of whom are or have been in the world’s top 50. Brook said the investigation had uncovered nothing new, while Kermode repeated his belief that there was not widespread match-fixing at the top of the game but conceded there may a problem at the lower levels.