The Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) has found four players not guilty of breaching corruption rules in this year’s Australian Open.
In January, betting on a mixed doubles match was suspended by Pinnacle Sports due to ‘irregular activity.” Andrea Hlavackova and Lukasz Kubot defeated Lara Arruabarrena and David Marrero 6-0, 6-3, in the first round. Betting was suspended due to the high volume of money placed on the match winners. After identifying the irregular incident, Pinnacle Sports reported the incident to the TIU.
All four players have denied any wrongdoing. Marrero told the New York Times in Australia that he attributed the loss to an inflamed tendon in his knee, which only a ‘small group’ of people knew about prior to the match.
“I am professional,’ Marrero said in January.
“I try to make my best tennis on the court. If you see all my matches, I don’t like to pull out of tournaments”.
The TIU have now concluded that no rules were broken and there was no signs of match-fixing taking place. During the investigation, all four players had their mobile phones examined by the TIU according to Marrero, who checked-in with the authorities before the French Open.
“While details of the investigation will remain confidential, no evidence of corrupt activity has been identified and no further action will be taken against any player involved,” a TIU spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal.
The decision has finally ended the black cloud looming over the players head. Only one out of the four commented on the TIU’s decision. World No.58 doubles player Marrero spoke of his relief about the verdict.
“I knew I hadn’t done anything so I would be fine,” Marrero told wsj.com.
“I’m very happy now that everything is over.”
Earlier this year Pinnacle Sports told ubitennis.net that they have identified ‘irregular patterns’ in other tennis matches. Marketing Director, Harry Lane, confirmed that the company has notified the TIU about the other suspicious matches but refrained from providing any details.
Tennis authorities have intensified their work on corruption in sport following a report published by the BBC and Buzzfeed News on the eve of the Australian Open. The joint investigation alleged that widespread match-fixing have occurred in tennis and authorities have failed to act. They also claimed that eight of the identified match-fixers participated in the first grand slam of this year.
