Wimbledon Gambling Scandal: Eight Matches Fixed, Dossier Claims

Last year the New York Times reported on a widening gambling scandal in professional tennis that implicated highly-ranked players. Now, allegations have arisen that eight Wimbledon matches (the tournament begins Monday) were fixed by professional gambling syndicates:

Eight matches at Wimbledon have been reported to the tennis authorities on suspicion results have been fixed by professional gambling syndicates.

The matches have been named in a dossier compiled by leading bookmaking companies responsible for monitoring suspect betting patterns and players thought to be willing to throw game...

...Many suspect matches show huge rises in the money pledged, compared with similar games...

...An official with detailed knowledge of the dossier of 140 "suspect" matches from tournaments around the world told the Sunday Times: "If you look at a tournament, you might see one match for £23,000 [in betting turnover], one for £27,000, one for £36,000 and one for £4.5m.

"It doesn't take a genius to work out that something is going on in the last one."

Comments

[filo]

Well ! This is a bit of a sticky wicket eh?

[cityprof]

A reference to cricket, of course. :)))

[wmbear]

I DON'T LIKE TENNIS, I HAVE NEVER LIKED TENNIS...

And I like tennis even less now....

[strifeknot]

Tennis is by far the best sport on the planet. It requires skill, intelligence, strategy, and athleticism missing from more popular activities, like watching astro-turf not grow in baseball.

[iluvsam]

I miss Andre too much to watch.

[strifeknot]

I don't miss his ego one iota. Tennis is so much more interesting without him around.

[iluvsam]

No way. Andre rocks.

[watchingthings]

John Mcnroe must have suspected this............no wonder he swore so much during his games......

[the964kid]

Who cares?? This is an awful period for pro tennis, with so few stand-out stars. And especially for Americans, there aren't any serious contenders, so it's not very interesting to watch. Agassi is gone, the Williams sisters are focusing on other things, and guys like Blake and Roddick so far have not lived up to their potential. Tennis needs a new crop of talented and charismatic players to get fans excited again.

[Clever Screen Name]

What are you talking about? This is an era that has the presumptive greatest player ever, the presumptive greatest clay-court player ever, several stars, and several more on the rise (Djokovic, Jankovic, the new women's number one Ivanovic). And the sport is only interesting to watch when there are Americans at the top? Uh, okay...

[bikerdude]

You are right about an abundance of talent from other countries. Not only do we have guys like Nadal and Djokovic, but there is a fleet of 17-19 year olds coming that are super. Hell, Djokovic just turned 21....The ladies are a mixed bag, but the ones you mentioned are at the top of the heap. Its interesing that all the names you mentioned end with "ovic"...Perhaps champion building is a national concern.

[BoydReed]

Many Americans only follow tennis when there's (a) a major championship, or (b) an American at the top of the game.

I will agree that there is a lot of strong young talent out there. As an American who follows international tennis, I lament the fact that the Americans don't appear to be stepping up to the challenges of the top international players. But the game is in excellent hands now (Federer/Nadal/Djokovic; Ivanovic/Sharapova/Jankovic).

However, I have to take issue with some of your "presumptions".

"Presumptive greatest player ever"? Federer's not there yet - and, quite frankly, will probably never get to Rod Laver (who I contend is the greatest of all time). But he can't even enter the discussion until he at least equals Sampras' major haul (or wins his first French). I know it's thought that Federer will get to 14 and beyond quickly, but with Nadal working to close the gap on non-clay surfaces, and Djokovic announcing his arrival as a top-3 player (and BOTH of these guys being younger than Federer), even #13 is hardly guaranteed.

"Presumptive greatest clay-court player ever"? Nadal > Borg? Not just yet. Nadal *is* climbing peacks previously scaled at Roland Garros only by Borg. But he hasn't exceeded ANY of Borg's accomplishments there yet. (And sorry, but no clay-court events besides the French Open really count for anything. The clay season is way short compared to grass or hardcourt.)

[bikerdude]

The Americans do not have a cohesive program to groom young tennis talent. the USPTA is doingnothing to help. They have turned into a very self-serving group that has little to do with cultivating interest in tennis. There is a bunch of young talent, but it is too expensive for many of these familites to hire the coaches and trainers, covern the travel expenses necessary to get ranking, etc. The focus on building the sport is gone. Other countries subsidize the sport, giving them a decided edge in developing top notch talent.

[cityprof]

I'm sorry to disagree but this is a great period for tennis.....Federer.....Nada....Jokovic, etc. Why is it that something is only worthwhile if the Americans are doing great. The Americans are now has-beens...losers...greedy...selfish...self-centered...neocon fashists....ready for redemption...here's hoping that Americans elect Obama and get busy correcting their well-earned negative reputation under Bush. It's time for America to get busy and work to achieve greatness again by going to Mars, eliminating the need for petrol, re-greening the planet, and taking care of their own poor and destitute. It's not yet too late....but it will be if Americans rechoose Bush through McCain.

[madron]

All of sports has gone to HELL.........they all cheat....it's all about money...greed....

[sowhatdemos]

HA!! I knew it!
I've always believed major sports events were fixed by money and gambling and people laughed at me for it.
But my economics professor in college who was a baseball fan said for his thesis that he ran the numbers and it was impossible from the stats for so many games to go to seven games as often as they do.
I think at that level of money and power all games are "fixed", super bowl, world series, basketball, golf and yes, even tennis.
I say no more...

[jerrypenguin]

I believe this applies to contemporary PROFESSIONAL SPECTATOR SPORTS. The current trend started during the early 1980's. This was the period of the money/media/celebrity integration. Prior to this time, the "stars" did not get multi-million dollar endorsement and participation contracts. Professional players were not the super-rich. They were part of a city or a neighborhood. Many had incomes supplemented through ownership of local businesses. Players and coaches were locally accessible citizens and role models.

[ccortezz]

do these matches involve Russian and or Eastern Euro players?

[watchingthings]

....welllll.....as Russia gets richer.....players from there get better......who knows for sure.....

[jashbowie]

Oh man, as a long time tennis fan and player, this is incredibly disappointing. Wimbledon is an institution, and for it to be sullied by fixes is contemptible. A sad day for tennis, if this turns out to be true.

[savethecountry]

This, unfortunately, doesn't surprise me. Tennis, at least since Michael Mewshaw's seminal 1984 book, "Short Circuit," has hummed along as if nothing wrong is happening. Wimbledon used to allow betting ON THE GROUNDS, for Pete's sake. It's long past time that tennis completely divorce itself from betting. I have been a fan of this beautiful, balletic, poetic sport for almost 35 years, yet the potential for this kind of wrongdoing has ALWAYS been there because it's an individual sport (like boxing). Bobby Riggs, who swept the men's singles and doubles and mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon in 1939, made a fortune betting ON HIMSELF.

What's also missed here is that players like Nikolay Davedenko, who has been implicated in betting, are convicted before an investigation yields any objective results. Whether Davedenko actually participated in betting, unfortunately, has been made secondary to just being implicated. That shouldn't happen. It's high time that tennis clean itself up...before the government does.

[emerywood]

" Huge rise in the money pledged " ?
How could the fixers be so dumb ? Perhaps, they are taking advantage that the public don't see the numbers instantly. They should come to America and study horse racing where all the odds are displayed every minute. Does this preclude any fixing ? Not on your life !

[JustObserving]

"How could the fixers be so dumb ?"

Greed triumphs wisdom everytime.

Besides, the odds that they may be offering on fixed matches were so attractive, they could draw a lot of gamblers who see it as a chance of easy money never imagining that the matches are fixed.

[in4success]

ok... you NEVER, EVER, EVER get to knock pro-wreslting again, got it?

[kellygrrrl]

sorry! I have to snark on their wardrobe and hair -- I cannot help myself!

:)

[strifeknot]

Wrestling possesses a latent homosexual facet rivaled only by '80s hair bands.

[hugs4u]

I can't blieve anyone actually considers pro wrestling as a sport or would even waste time watching.

[wadenelson1]

I used to feel that way till a friend dying of cancer 'splained it to me. The good guy always wins. But for a minute there the outcome appears unsure. The bad guy is really, really bad. It's entertainment pure and simple. And in a world where the good guy so seldom wins anymore, even on TV, it gave him enjoyment while he was dying. I got him a huge cardboard cutout Hulk Hoagan from a 7-11. He loved it.

And ever since then I've never badmouthed professional wrestling.