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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 7:02 a.m., Sunday, June 22, 2008

Tennis: ATP to sign off on anti-corruption rules

Associated Press

WIMBLEDON, England — The Association of Tennis Professionals board is expected to rubber stamp tough new sanctions for match fixing just as Wimbledon is getting started.

The ATP, which runs men's tennis, said it agrees with 15 recommendations from an independent panel released last month to combat the potential for corruption, and will formally endorse them on Monday.

The All England Club, which runs Wimbledon, is implementing tougher restrictions on access to player locker rooms starting this week to get the crackdown started.

All England Club chief executive Ian Ritchie said all key stakeholders — the ATP, the WTA, the four Grand Slams and the International Tennis Federation — have accepted the review recommendations, including the creation of an anti-corruption unit.

Under new guidelines, players will be required to report any suspicious contact from gambling syndicates within 48 hours of being approached. Sanctions range up to life bans for players found guilty of match fixing.

Players and their families and entourages could also be banned from betting on matches.

Venus Williams, the defending women's champion, doubted the specter of match-fixing investigations was dominating conversations in the locker rooms.

"As far as Wimbledon, that's really my least concern at the moment," she said today at a news conference.

The independent review was prompted by a series of events connected to gambling in tennis. Most prominently, an online betting site voided all bets on a match involving Nikolay Davydenko last year because of suspicious gambling patterns.

Other players have come forward to say they have been approached by people trying to influence a match. Five players, all Italians, have been fined and suspended for betting on tennis.