WTA: Women's players approached to throw matches

MELBOURNE: Five or six players on the WTA Tour have been approached to throw tennis matches, tour chairman Larry Scott said yesterday.

"I've said several initially, and I think five or six would be in the ballpark," Scott told The Associated Press. "I don't want to go into any more details because it's part of an investigation.

"But we were surprised by the amount of gambling on tennis in general, and the number of players approached."

Scott said that the WTA has determined that no matches have been affected by gambling. And he also has threatened any player involved with gambling on matches with a life ban.

"We're very pleased about a couple of things," said Scott. "One, that the players have been responsible and shared the information, and secondly, that from what we have seen so far, there is no proof that there has been any corruption by the players or anyone around the players.

"While this represents a significant threat that got our attention, it also caused us to focus in a different way, in a more intense way, to get ahead of the curve, be proactive and to prevent the threat from becoming a problem."

The issue of possible corruption was raised in men's tennis after an online betting site in August voided all wagers on a match in Poland between Nikolay Davydenko and 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello because of irregular betting patterns. Davydenko withdrew from the match in the third set, citing a foot injury.

Since then, several ATP players came forward to say they have been approached with offers to fix matches for money.

The ATP opened an investigation into the Davydenko match, interviewing him and his wife and reviewing telephone records. No findings have been announced.

Late last year, three Italian pros - Potito Starace, Daniele Bracciali and Alessio Di Mauro - were suspended for betting on tennis matches involving other players.

Scott said he met with WTA players in Melbourne on Saturday and that the gambling issue "was the first item on the agenda for me.

"I wanted to signal to the players that it was a most important issue, and my message was simple: that women's tennis has a tremendous amount of momentum, we've had great success in 2007, and that this is one issue I see out there that could put a black cloud over us."

"It wasn't the first time that we've discussed it, but I wanted to elevate the importance of it and be very clear with the players that we have a zero tolerance, that a player caught would have a lifetime ban from the sport."

Scott said the response since has been positive.

"I've had several players and parents and coaches come up to me since the meeting to tell me that the players were pleased to hear about the plans.

"There was some element of surprise that this is even an issue, that there is so much gambling. They were very pleased that we are taking a proactive and aggressive approach to protect the integrity of the sport."

Provisional suspensions

Tennis chiefs are considering introducing provisional suspensions for players who fail drug tests to speed up the process in a fresh move in the fight against drug cheats.

Currently, once A and B samples have tested positive nothing further happens until after a tribunal hearing, which can take several months.

Scott said at the Australian Open that provisional suspensions could be introduced as early as next year.

"That's the one dramatic step we could take to shorten the process," the chief executive of the WTA Tour said. "The time between the B sample testing positive and the tribunal hearing can be months; what's being discussed is possibly announcing a suspension after a B sample is positive, provisionally, and then it would be confirmed after the tribunal hearing, or not confirmed."

Agencies

(China Daily 01/16/2008 page24)