Tennis MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 11: Australian Open branded tennis balls are seen on court ahead of the 2015 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 11, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

World tennis has taken the crown for greatest chance of corruption for match fixing than any other sport, after 73 suspicious matches were flagged to authorities last year, according to BuzzFeed.

Out of 100 alerts of suspicious events last year, tennis accounted for 73 of them. The statistics were issued by the ESSA (Sports Betting Integrity) in their latest quarterly integrity report.

This comes after BuzzFeed and BBC sparked the tennis world with their report just over a month ago in January that detailed match-fixing evidence that had been widespread in the sport for years, and included over 26,000 matches.

The sport’s governing bodies swept the report under the rug, and dismissed the evidence that was brought to light by BuzzFeed and BBC, as it perhaps had something to do with this statement that was included in the ESSA report:

The start of 2016 has seen a worldwide focus on alleged matchfixing in tennis. The data contained in ESSA’s Q1-3 reports has been used to highlight those concerns. The data in our Q4 integrity report reflects previous quarters and, whilst tennis constituted the largest proportion of suspicious betting alerts identified by ESSA members, it should be noted that the vast majority of tennis events are fair.

So while it’s never a good look to have the most suspicious activity, there is a lot of tennis that is played over the course of a year, and just as the ESSA report says, most of the events are fair.

The ESSA assists the sport’s governing bodies by issuing suspicious betting alerts to regulated bookmakers across Europe when irregular activity is spotted on an event. If enough suspicious activity is present, the ESSA reports it.

The process is further detailed in the report:

The ESSA alert system primarily works on the input provided by its members, notably alerts created by members relating to suspicious transactions detected by their own internal control systems.

If such an alert is issued, which occurs through ESSA’s alert platform, members are required to respond quickly confirming whether or not similar trends have been seen elsewhere in their markets.

Where evidence emerges that there may be potentially fraudulent activity taking place, e.g. because several members have confirmed an irregular betting pattern, ESSA will:

1. report that information under the applicable Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to the relevant sports governing body; and

2. advise the member(s) concerned to make a report to their own national regulatory authority.

Although the ESSA says that the reports are relatively low for tennis, the great concern came with the fact that matches were being fixed by a group of 16 players whose rankings have ranged in the top 50. Novak Djokovic said that he had been offered $200,000 to throw a match back in 2007.

Per BuzzFeed, Chris Kermode, chair of the Association of Tennis Professionals Executive, insisted gambling “is not a widespread issue in the sport” and that there is a “zero tolerance” policy for match-fixing.

Having the thought in the back of your mind that the matches might be fixed isn’t a great feeling, and it might even turn some people away from the sport. But surely this is not the last time we will hear about this aspect of the tennis world.

[Buzzfeed]

About Harry Lyles Jr.

Harry Lyles Jr. is an Atlanta-based writer, and a Georgia State University graduate.