Monday was opening day at the Australian Open, and with Serena Williams on court for her first official match in four months, tennis leaders filed into the tournament’s main interview room and attempted to allay fears that the game has a major match-fixing problem.
The news conference came in response to an article published jointly on Monday by the BBC and BuzzFeed that asserted that over the last decade, 16 players who have ranked in the top 50 have been repeatedly flagged to the Tennis Integrity Unit, the sport’s internal watchdog, over suspicions that they had thrown matches.
And yet, the report maintains, all of those players, including men who have won Grand Slam singles and doubles titles, were permitted to continue competing.