Tennis Betting Claims
November 6, 2007
The anonymous insider, speaking to German public broadcaster WDR, said that some professional tennis players had raked in more cash by engaging in game-rigging than they would have by winning the tournaments.
He also claimed to have been offered a five-figure sum to act as a middleman in a betting affair.
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is currently investigating a list of 140 allegedly fixed matches. Names of seven German tennis players were on the list, including two who intentionally lost matches, according to the anonymous informant.
Haas appeals to anonymous player
"It's time people started naming names," said successful German tennis pro Tommy Haas in response to the allegations, which he said may very well be true.
"No one has ever approached me [about fixing a match]," added Haas, who's played professionally for 11 years. "I would have blown their cover. Only relentless openness can shed light on this mess."
He admitted, however, that it's difficult to prove whether a player has intentionally lost a match or not.
Tennis scene responds to allegations
Anger, helplessness and disbelief have resonated from other corners of the professional tennis world as well.
"I can't imagine that it's true and that German players are really involved in illegal betting at tennis tournaments," Davis Cup team leader Patrik Kühn told German news agency DPA on Monday, Nov. 5.
"Criminal energy is everywhere," commented George von Waldenfels, head of the German Tennis Association (DTB). "But we as the DTB aren't necessarily capable of acting."
"We're urgently waiting on sanctions from the APT," added Waldenfels.
In light of the allegations, the APT warned on Monday that players involved in fixing matches could face a life-long play ban if they don't confess within two days.
The current tennis scandal isn't the first time illegal betting accusations have been made in German professional sports. Soccer referee Robert Hoyzer was sentenced in December 2006 to nearly two and a half years in prison for fixing games for money.