The Times reports that “four years after suspicions were first raised; the game’s authorities” – the men’s Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and the Grand Slam Committee – “have finally been persuaded to take action against corruption [globally].” The Independent notes that they met on 12 October to discuss recent accusations.

The Times furthermore notes that “there are grave suspicions that money is being exchanged for tournament passes; that former players are being granted access to events and acting as insiders for gambling conglomerates; that whispers about injuries and arguments with girlfriends are being passed down the line, encouraging sudden surges of money on players who ought not to win but do.”

The article continues with an observation that some matches dating back to 2003 have been surrounded by unusual betting activity and that the issue was far more complex than players simply being offered money to lose matches.

The Independent states that tennis “must remain vigilant against the threat of match-fixing and betting scams”. In particular the recent game on the ATP’s match list between 4th-ranked Nikolay Davyenko and 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello at the Poland Open in August 2007 invoked suspicion.

Allegations of corruption arose as “the Internet betting agency Betfair voided $10 million worth of wagers after Davydenko’s injury retirement in the third set”, recalls the Sydney Morning Herald (Australia). Official investigations to investigate these irregular betting patterns are underway.

Bloomberg reports that the global governing bodies of tennis decided to hire an outside firm to assess the danger that gambling poses to the sport. “We have not found evidence of corruption in the sport,” Kris Dent, the spokesman of ATP, said. “But we recognise there is a threat to all sports posed by gambling.”