Hours before the start of the Australian Open, BBC News and Buzzfeed News reported a story on a widespread match-fixing in tennis at events as high as the Grand Slam tournaments such as Wimbledon, with tennis authorities having had evidence of said illegal activity. This isn’t the first time the sport is in the spotlight regarding match fixing.

According to the report, tennis authorities were repeatedly warned about match-fixing after a 2008 investigation where they found evidence of match fixing at major tournaments. Gambling syndicates in Russia and Italy allegedly orchestrated it which involved a core group of 16 players, all rank inside the Top 50. These players haven’t faced any sanctions, and, at least, half of them are set to play at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

The investigation was based on leaked documents – “Fixing Files” – and analysis of betting activity on 26,000 and interviews with match-fixing experts, tennis officials, and players. Also, Buzzfeed used an algorithm they devised “to analyse gambling on professional tennis matches over the past seven years.” 

Here’s are the other findings from the investigations by both news organizations:

  1. Winners of singles and doubles titles at Grand Slam tournaments are among the core group of 16 players who have repeatedly been reported for losing games when highly suspicious bets have been placed against them.
  2. One top-50 player is competing in the Australian Open is suspected of repeatedly fixing his first set.
  3. Players are being targeted in hotel rooms at major tournaments and offered $50,000 or more per fix by corrupt gamblers. 
  4. Gambling syndicates in Russia and Italy have made hundreds of thousands of pounds placing highly suspicious bets on scores of matches – including at Wimbledon and the French Open.
  5. The names of more than 70 players appear on nine leaked lists of suspected fixers who have been flagged up to the tennis authorities over the past decade without being sanctioned.

However, the report failed to name players saying “BuzzFeed News and the BBC have chosen not to name the players whose matches have repeatedly been flagged for attracting highly suspicious betting, because without access to phone, bank, or computer records it is not possible to prove a link between the players and the gamblers.”

For more about the report, you can read them in full on Buzzfeed / BBC.