ITIA receives 19 suspicious betting alerts for tennis matches in Q2
Matches across the ATP Challenger and World Tours, as well as the men's and women's World Tennis Tours, were flagged for suspicious betting activity
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) received 19 alerts for suspicious betting activity across various matches in Q2 2024.
The integrity body received the alerts via its confidential memoranda of understanding (MOU) agreement with the betting industry and regulated operators across the globe.
The majority of the alerts came from the lower rungs of the tennis “pyramid” in International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournaments.
Most were from W15 Women’s World Tennis Tour matches, with seven alerts raised during the reporting period, with a further four alerts coming from the equivalent men’s tour.
Three alerts also stemmed from M25 Men’s World Tennis Tour fixtures.
Higher up the ladder, five suspicious alerts were flagged from Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournaments.
Three alerts were raised for ATP Challenger 50 matches, with one alert apiece for games in the ATP Challenger 75 and ATP World Tour 250.
ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse said: “Every alert reported to the ITIA is recorded, assessed and followed up as an indicator that something inappropriate may have happened.
“It is important to note that an alert on its own is not evidence of match-fixing.
“Unusual betting patterns can occur for many reasons other than match-fixing – for example, incorrect odds setting; well informed betting; player fitness, fatigue or form; playing conditions and personal circumstances,” she added.
Moorhouse went on to note that conclusions around the prevalence of match-fixing or concerns over integrity should not be drawn until full investigations had taken place.
She continued: “Care should be taken in drawing any conclusions about prevailing corruption across the tennis ‘pyramid’ as there are many more matches at the bottom than at the top.
“Where analysis of a match alert does suggest corrupt activity, the ITIA conducts a full, confidential investigation,” Moorhouse noted.
The data from the ITIA comes after the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) reported that in Q1 of 2024, tennis was behind only football in sports with the highest number of suspicious alerts.
During Q2, the ITIA also sanctioned nine different tennis players and officials for breaching Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) code rules.
Alejandro Mendoza Crespo, a 34-year-old player from Bolivia, was handed a lifetime ban and a $250,000 fine, the maximum penalty, for committing 20 major offences under the TACP.
Others include Slovenian player David Gorsic and inactive Australian official Steven Nguyen, who received six-month and three-month bans, respectively, in June.