[情報] Women would not fix matches, say top-ranked Belgian duo
Women would not fix matches, say top-ranked Belgian duo
Thu 16 October, 2003 17:26 BST
By Will Gray
ZURICH, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Women's tennis would never become embroiled in match-fixing, top-ranked Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne said on Thursday.
"I don't have a crystal ball but definitely, with the rankings, the rivalry, the prize money and everything, I don't think it is possible on our tour. It would be too obvious," world number one Clijsters said.
The ATP, governing body of the men's professional game, have begun an investigation into allegations that some players on the tour have been fixing their matches for financial gain.
World number two Henin-Hardenne, also asked during the Swisscom Challenge tournament about the possibility of such allegations in the women's game, said: "Absolutely not. Women's tennis is so competitive.
"In the women's tournaments everyone fights so hard I do not think it would happen. Anyway, it is only accusations in the men's tennis and there is no proof."
Clijsters praised the ATP for taking steps to deal with the allegations.
She and the women's governing body WTA both said that it was important that the correct approach was taken immediately to prevent the sport from being dragged through the mud.
"It is definitely a serious problem and it is something that has to be dealt with now," said Clijsters. "These things could definitely influence tennis, even if it is only in the ATP and not the WTA.
"There will always be comparisons between men's and women's tennis. That is why it is kind of good that the ATP is taking steps to block it out as soon as possible."
CONSTANT MONITORING
The WTA said they are constantly monitoring the betting activities in the sport and said they had "no indication" of any illegal practices currently taking place.
They said, however, that with one half of the sport embroiled in controversy there will be an element of focus on such practices throughout tennis during the coming months.
In line with the stance of the ATP Tour, the WTA said they have an appropriate system in place if any illegal practices are proven and would take a strong approach to any similar situation that arose.
Both tours are so concerned that they have introduced equal fines of $100,000 and suspensions for any player found to be involved in throwing a match.
"The WTA tour is committed to doing everything in its power to preserve the integrity of women's professional tennis and has a zero tolerance policy regarding wagering," a WTA spokeswoman told Reuters.
"To ensure that the integrity of our sport is maintained, the WTA tour continuously monitors the sport, reviews our penalties and procedures and keeps our constituents informed to prevent illegal wagering.
"To this end, there are severe penalties in place for players, coaches, tournament directors, staff and other tennis insiders who wager on tennis matches, including significant fines and suspensions."
Mark Miles, the head of the ATP, has called for an end to betting on all tennis matches after conceding the body had been aware of reports of irregular betting patterns in the sport for some time.
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