Tennis warned of ‘elevated risk of corruption’
PARIS: Tennis players taking part in private tournaments while the sport is in lockdown have been warned that match-fixers remain a threat.
ATP and WTA events have been on ice for over a month and will not resume until July 13 at the earliest. In the meantime, exhibition matches, as well as virtual tennis tournaments, have been suggested as a means to sharpen competitive edges and boost bank balances. “The suspension of professional tennis is an uncertain and challenging time for the tennis community,” said a statement from corruption watchdog, the Tennis Integrity Unit.
“Some privately organised exhibition matches, tournaments and even eSports events will start to take place where and when local government restrictions allow.
“We understand that these will be attractive opportunities to many of you eager to play and to earn an income.”While the playing opportunities created are welcomed, we must advise you that there may be an elevated risk of corruption and corrupt approaches in some of these environments.”
Rafael Nadal and Patrick Mouratoglou, the coach of Serena Williams, both say that they plan events at
their academies.
The Nadal Academy in Mallorca said it was considering becoming “a campus where elite players can reside, train and compete between themselves in matches that will be televised so that fans around the world can enjoy them.”
Mouratoglou released a statement unveiling a planned “league” of 50 matches at his academy near Nice in the south of France and talking of “millions of US dollars in prize money”.
Mouratoglou said he was planning 10 closeddoor matches to be broadcast live on each of five weekends under the title “Ultimate Tennis Showdown”. The competition will start on the weekend of May 16 with a match between world number 10 David Goffin and 20-year-old Australian Alexei Popyrin.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic faces a dilemma if it becomes compulsory for players to get vaccinated before they can begin competing once the tennis season resumes following the hiatus created by the coronavirus pandemic, the world number one said on Sunday. “Personally I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel,” Djokovic said in a live facebook chat with several fellow Serbian athletes. “But if it becomes compulsory, what will happen? I will have to make a decision. I have my own thoughts about the matter and whether those thoughts will change at some point, I don’t know.
“Hypothetically, if the season was to resume in July, August or September, though unlikely, I understand that a vaccine will become a requirement straight after we are out of strict quarantine and there is no vaccine yet.” Last month, former world number one Amelie Mauresmo said the rest of the 2020 tennis season might be wiped out, saying that action should not resume before players can get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.
“International circuit = players of all nationalities plus management, spectators and people from the 4 corners of the world who bring these events to life. No vaccine = no tennis,” the two-time grand slam winner said in a widely shared tweet.
Medical experts have said that vaccines against the respiratory virus would not be ready until next year, raising doubts whether any further tennis tournaments can be contested this year.
This year’s Wimbledon championships have been cancelled for the first time since World War II while the French Open, originally due to be held from May 24-June 7, was rescheduled for Sept. 20 - Oct. 4, shortly after the end of the US Open.
Djokovic made a flying start to the 2020 season, winning the Australian Open in January for his 17th grand slam title and stretched his winning run to 18 matches before the pandemic brought sports events across the world to a halt.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the Euro 2020 soccer championship were among the events postponed until next year as the pandemic has caused 165,000 deaths worldwide. So far the governing bodies of tennis have suspended all tournaments until July 13. In addition, the women’s Rogers Cup in Montreal, which had been due to be held in August, will also not take place this year. — Agencies