The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has announced a number of measures to curb corruption in the sport. The governing body announced that it will phase out the collection of live scoring data at smaller events.

Information will not be available for all World Tennis Tour (WTT) events offering prize money up to $15000, and the ITF will invest $8 million to create a comprehensive integrity infrastructure.

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PART OF A LARGER FIGHT

The fight against corruption has been gaining some strength in the recent past, and these measures are not isolated events.

ITF commissioned an International Review Panel last month to address betting related issues.

David Haggerty, President of ITF said that they were committed to protecting the integrity of the World Tennis Tour. He was confident that the measures will deliver real benefits for the participants and reduce the corruption risk seen in 2019.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF OTHER MEASURES

The ITF announced several other measures to deal with corruption, including the introduction of accreditation for WTT events, video recording, increased security and better channels for reporting integrity concerns.

Jenny Price, Chair of the Tennis Integrity Supervisory Board said that the recommendation had clarified the importance of official data in relation to unofficial data.

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THE IMPACT OF IRP’S REPORT

The ITF has reduced the supply of live scoring data for low-level WTT events, hence less than 3500 matches will now be available for betting. IRP’s findings led to this action.

The menace of corruption is antithetical to the integrity of the sport. Thus, the measures announced by ITF are welcome changes. However, the implementation should also match the commitment shown in the announcements.