Czech tennis boss detained in fraud investigation

The head of the Czech tennis federation has been detained as part of a fraud investigation into misuse of state funds that saw its headquarters raided by police.

The federation appointed its sport director Jan Stoces as interim head on Friday after a court ordered its president Ivo Kaderka be kept in a detention cell because of the financial scandal that has rocked Czech tennis.

Prague’s public prosecution office said a total of five people and five firms, but not the federation itself, have been charged with subsidy fraud.

Czech tennis has a proud history that includes former greats such as Martina Navratilova and Ivan Lendl, while Marketa Vondrousova is the reigning women’s Wimbledon champion.

Kaderka and Vojtech Flegl, a federation board member, are the only two who are in detention following police raids at the federation headquarters in Prague and other offices earlier this week.

The 60-year-old Kaderka, who has been in charge of the federation since 1998, and Flegl face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of subsidy fraud. They deny wrongdoing.

The other suspects include the federation’s secretary and head of finances, and also Daniel Vacek, a former tennis player who coaches fellow Czech Tomas Machac, currently ranked 65th.

Anthony Kim, a 38-year-old Californian, hit his first competitive shot in 4,320 days and then hit more shots than he wanted Friday at LIV Golf Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. He opened with a 6-over 76 and was in last place, trailing Masters champion Jon Rahm and Adrian Meronk by 14 shots.

Kim walked away from the PGA Tour after the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship on May 3, 2012, beset by injuries and a lost game.

He signed on this week to be a wild card for the remainder of the LIV season, meaning he doesn’t belong to any team.