In the wake of a BBC-Buzzfeed report that alleged widespread corruption in professional tennis, Thanasi Kokkinakis revealed this week that he has been approached to fix matches.
Speaking to reporters, the 19-year-old said “randoms” on social media had posted Facebook messages to him asking him to throw games for cash.
“Not face-to-face, but on social media you read some stuff on your Facebook page, just these randoms from nowhere saying ‘I’ll pay you this much to tank the game’,” Kokkinakis said.
“It’s a very common thing. For tennis players, and I’d assume other sports.
“Luckily in tennis we have a great program in place, we have the Tennis Integrity Unit [TIU] and you just report it to them and they get it all sorted.
“You just try and block it away … there’s no time for that in this sport.”
Kokkinakis’ comments came after world number one Novak Djokovic admitted he had been offered $US200,000 to lose a match in 2006.
Meanwhile, Senator Nick Xenophon has called on Tennis Australia to outline steps to ensure the integrity of the Australian Open.
“Allegations that international tennis is rife with corruption linked to corrupt gambling practices, and that one of the players in the Australian Open is under suspicion from the TIU, require an urgent response from Tennis Australia,” said Senator Xenophon.
He also appealed to gambling regulators, including the Independent Gambling Authority in South Australia, to seek access to internal documents of the TIU referred to as the ‘Fixing Files’ – an analysis of betting on 26,000 tennis matches and suspected match-fixing.
Gambling licences in Australia for sports betting agencies are issued via the Northern Territory (where there are lower taxes and lower regulatory requirements), but individual state regulators have to approve their operation in each jurisdiction.
“If Australian regulators are fair dinkum about ensuring the integrity of the games then they have an obligation to urgently investigate and report on these very serious allegations that have rocked the tennis world, and in particular any implications here in Australia,” said Xenophon.
“We need to know, for instance, that there has been a thorough analysis of bets placed on Australian tennis games to see if there is any link to match fixing or corrupt practices.”
The senator has appealed to Tennis Australia to sever its ties with betting company William Hill for the Australian Open as “it sends the wrong message to fans of tennis, including children, that there is a strong link between the two”.
Legislation put before the federal parliament recently by Xenophon seeks to clamp down on sports betting, including the banning of micro bets or ‘ball-by-ball betting’, which he says is “a potential recipe for match fixing and corruption”.