Wimbledon 2018: Anti-corruption unit investigates doubles match

Wimbledon 2018 LIVE |​ Follow today's action from SW19
REUTERS

A Wimbledon men’s doubles clash has been referred to match-fixing officials to investigate any possible wrongdoing.

The match, which cannot be identified for legal reasons, is believed to have involved players ranked as high as the top 100 in the world in singles.

The tie was referred to the authorities by bookmaker Pinnacle Sports after a late and sudden shift in betting patterns.

The company’s integrity manager, Sam Gomersall, told American broadcaster ABC that it had seen evidence of “a series of bets from accounts with a history of wagering on suspicious matches” and immediately referred the match to Wimbledon officials. Gomersall also described the late change in odds for the first-round match as “out of the ordinary”, following “irregular betting patterns”.

Wimbledon said it would not comment on the match, saying that it was a matter for the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU). However, it insisted that as event organiser it would be made aware of any suspicious matches. The Association of Tennis Professionals also elected not to comment.

The matter is now in the hands of the TIU, which is charged with dealing with corruption across tennis. It does not comment on whether a specific match is under investigation but a spokesman said: “The TIU has become more transparent, hence our publication of quarterly match alert data, but that is also balanced against the need for operational confidentiality.”

In Pictures | Wimbledon 2018

1/208

An alert does not immediately mean corruption has taken place. Three suspicious matches were flagged at Wimbledon last year, while one was also investigated following the 2016 tournament. No player sanctions have followed. From January to March this year, the TIU received a total of 38 match alerts from bookmakers or betting regulators.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT