Tennis happens to be confronted with accusations of match fixing for years: through the match that is infamous Nikolay Davydenko and Martin Vassallo Arguello in 2007 that first introduced much of this public to questions in regards to the integrity of matches in certain smaller tournaments to suspensions levied against two players earlier this year, there always generally seems to be something lurking underneath the sport’s surface.

Those concerns were aired again this week in an account by The Daily Beast, which again attempted to delve through the information out there about tennis and determine simply how much of a problem match fixing is for the game.

One 2014 research cited in that tale estimated that one percent of most first-round tournament matches might be fixed, which may mean more than 20 matches per year were influenced by gamblers; other estimates and guesses have actually suggested that multiple matches each week could be fixed, though that’s still a very tiny percentage of all professional tennis matches.

Low Pay Leads to Temptation for Lower-Ranked Players

Why is tennis so susceptible to match fixing?

There are always a mixture of factors, lots of which help explain why the problem seems most prominent during the lower levels associated with the ranks that are professional.

First, there’s the most obvious reality that tennis (at least in singles play) is a sport that is individual.

There clearly was only one individual which should be bribed to get them to throw a match (equivalent issue that leads many to fear extensive integrity issues in boxing as well as other combat sports), and there are no teammates or substitutes to pick up the slack for a player who is struggling.

Having said that, nobody is accusing Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal of fixing matches at Wimbledon.

For one, there is the fact that these matches have an intense quantity of scrutiny if it could be done at all on them; perhaps even more importantly, though, star tennis players are extremely well compensated, meaning it would cost anyone attempting to fix a match at that level an exorbitant amount of money.

That’s not to say that no one tries. Also Novak Djokovic has told an account to be provided $100,000 to fix a match back 2006.

But players on the Challenger Tour or other low-ranked competitors are not making nearly that much money, and could even lose cash in a provided tournament after travel and mentoring expenses are taken into account.

Which makes them targets that are prime gamblers trying to fix a match.

Spot Betting Allows Fixing Without Impacting Match Result

Another issue is the actual fact that gamblers do not even have to fix an entire match to find techniques to benefit.

Because numerous gambling sites and bookmakers offer wagering on sets or also individual games, players can reach agreements allowing certain occasions to take place at the right times to satisfy gamblers while still playing to win overall.

‘One particular fix that is common be to separate the very first two sets up to a predetermined script, then play the 3rd set fairly to determine which player progresses,’ sports modeler Ian Dorward told Slate earlier this 12 months.

The Tennis Integrity device is the body tasked with rooting out such dilemmas, and they have sometimes made examples of players. In March, Elie Rousset and Walkter Trusendi each received six-month suspensions and fines for violations of anti-corruption rules, though perhaps not for match-fixing.

But no matter what the Integrity Unit does, it really is unlikely in order to alter the tradition that allows lower-ranked players to be incentivized to help gamblers who wish to make sure bets.

That would need a complete change in how compensation works up and down the different amounts of professional tennis, a thing that will most likely not take place any time quickly.