It’s barely been a day since the US Open‘s main draw began, and the tournament is already at the center of controversy. Turns out they have reportedly struck a deal with a single platform as its sole prediction market partner. Due to this deal, other prediction market platforms will be prohibited from in-venue and TV advertising. This move hasn’t gone down well with many, including prominent tennis analyst Jon Wertheim.
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According to a report by Front Office Sports, the US Open has struck a deal with Kalshi, a platform where individuals can trade directly on the outcomes of real-world events that will take place in the future. They reportedly benefit from collecting insider information, which is an illegal practice. With tennis being a sport where match-fixing is still common at lower levels, Wertheim believes that the US Open shouldn’t have partnered with a platform that benefits from corrupt and illegal practices.
“This is *such* a disappointing decision, @usopen,” he wrote on X. “Not a week goes by when the tennis’ Integrity unit – that you help fund – fails to announce a match-fixing scandal…and you take sponsorship $ from a platform predicated on profiting from inside information? No way to spin this as a positive.”
Because of the partnership, Kalshi’s branding will now appear across the US Open venues and broadcasts. Direct competitors like Polymarket will be prohibited from any type of advertising at the Grand Slam. While this decision does show that prediction markets are now becoming a mainstream product, it also raises questions about how such a deal can affect tennis, especially if more of them are made in the coming tournaments.
Wertheim believes this kind of partnership might benefit bettors, as they too benefit through insider information. Though Kalshi has employed strict monitoring safeguards to prevent outcome manipulation, there is always a risk of bettors lurking on the platform.
This move especially doesn’t go well, knowing that a number of match-fixing cases have emerged this year in tennis. Three tennis figures were handed bans for breaching rules under the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP). The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) handed Mila Masic a $20,000 fine and suspended her for four years and ten months for fixing four of her own matches.
The second player who was sanctioned was Jana Vanik. She didn’t respond to ITIA’s match-fixing investigation and was banned for a year and four months as a result. The German was also fined $1,500 for not cooperating with the ITIA. The ban will last until July 20, 2027.
The third figure to be sanctioned was Kazakh official Assylbek Kassym. The national-level tennis official was handed a suspension for one year and was fined $10,000 on charges of non-cooperation with the investigation. It was alleged that he approached players for corruption, but Kassym refused to have any discussion with the ITIA over the matter.