ATP expected to approve tougher anti-corruption rules
CBSSports.com wire reports
WIMBLEDON, England -- The Association of Tennis Professionals board is expected to rubber stamp tough new sanctions for match fixing just as Wimbledon is getting started.
The ATP, which runs men's tennis, said it had already agreed with 15 recommendations from an independent panel review released last month to combat the potential for corruption and would formally endorse them on Monday.
The All England Club, which runs Wimbledon, is implementing tougher restrictions on access to player locker rooms starting this week to get the crackdown started.
All England Club chief executive Ian Ritchie said all key stakeholders - the ATP, the WTA, the four Grand Slams and the International Tennis Federation -- had all accepted the review recommendations, including the creation of an anti-corruption unit, and only needed to sign off at board level.
In an interview on Centre Court on the eve of Wimbledon, Ritchie said he wanted to announce the appointment of a new anti-corruption czar "as a matter of urgency."
Ritchie says the tightening of regulations were determined last month and not in the wake of British newspaper reports Sunday linking the grass court championship to match fixing.
The Sunday Times and the Independent on Sunday published front-page reports saying that eight matches played over the last five years were among 45 that were subject of an ongoing investigation into irregular betting patterns. Those details were widely published in May.
The Times reported that five of the eight players who lost those Wimbledon matches were in this year's draw, which contains 18 players involved in the 45 matches under investigation.
Ritchie said all that information was made public last month when an independent panel handed down a 66-page report.
The ATP said in a statement it would "examine credible information received from any source."
"Nothing is more important than integrity in our sport," the statement said. "Tennis has shown that it will act where it has information which requires investigation. Instead of relying on anonymous speculation, the ATP, WTA and ITF undertook this year an independent integrity review to understand the true nature of the issues facing our sport.
"We were comforted but not surprised that the independent experts confirmed the sport is not institutionally or systematically corrupt. That Review also set out 15 key recommendations for our sport and we have accepted and begun implementing all 15, including the setting up of a full-time Integrity Unit."
Under new guidelines, players will be required to report any suspicious contact from gambling syndicates within 48 hours of being approached. Sanctions range up to life bans for players found guilty of match fixing.
