Tennis Integrity Unit cites 48 suspicious betting activities in Q1

The Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) has revealed that it received 48 alerts of unusual or suspicious betting activity during the three months to March 31, 2016. In a briefing on its website, the TIU said one alert came from the Australian Open Grand Slam event, while another was received from an event on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. The most alerts, 24, came from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Men’s Futures entry-level series, with a further 10 from the ITF Women’s and 12 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Men’s Challenger. The total of 48 alerts represents 0.2% of the 24,100 matches that were played around the world during the three-month period, but is an increase on the 31 alerts that the TIU received in the first quarter of last year. Earlier this month, ESSA announced that of the 11 instances of suspicious betting patterns reported during the first quarter of this year, nine cases were related to tennis. “The 48 alerts are a combined aggregate of all alerts received from the betting industry and represent the most accurate and comprehensive data for the sport,” the TIU said in the briefing. “In some cases, alerts are received from a number of operators on the same match. “For the purposes of TIU assessment, follow up and reporting, these are treated as a single alert. Related article: ESSA reveals suspicious sports betting activity in Q1