Betting has become an increasingly visible issue in tennis over the last few years. Players have frequently spoken about being heckled during matches or receiving abusive messages from bettors online after results don’t go their way. Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys have both previously opened up about the kind of threats they’ve received on social media.

There have also been repeated cases of courtsiding at lower-level events, adding to concerns around how betting is affecting the sport. With the problem continuing to grow, Lorenzo Musetti believes the ATP Tour needs to take stronger action against the issue.

He first pointed out that the presence of bettors in tennis matches has significantly increased in recent years and has now become an issue all around the world.

“It happened a lot of times, not just in Italy, but in every part of the world. Unfortunately, there’s still this problem that we see sometimes, especially in some matches, which is pretty clear that there are some people from the crowd who bet and that they are cheering for the ones that maybe at that time it’s not the home favorite, or they disturb the game,” Musetti said after defeating Francisco Cerundolo at the Italian Open.

The Italian suggested that the ATP should have security who can identify the bettors present in the stands as the players can’t do much from the court.

“The only thing that we can do is try to avoid these people. The ATP for sure has to do something and have some security that can check a little bit from the grounds because we cannot do much on the court,” he added.

Additionally, there have also been many cases of players themselves being involved in betting and match-fixing, especially in the past few years. In February of last year, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) had sanctioned six players linked to the Belgian syndicate run by convicted fixer Grigor Sargsyan, who was later sentenced to five years in prison.

The concerns around match-fixing had returned earlier this year in February when the ITIA had sanctioned 32-year-old pro Hernan Casanova due to illegal betting and the violation of integrity rules. The Argentine had admitted that he had placed bets on tennis matches between 2023 and 2025. He also failed to report a corrupt approach, which breached the 2024 Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP). The ITIA had confirmed the details of the sanctions on Casanova in an official statement.

“Casanova accepted a sanction of two months and a fine of $2,000, of which $1,500 is suspended. The sanction is effective from 4 February 2026 and will end on 3 April 2026,” the statement read.

The agency had also made it clear that Casanova won’t be able to have any sort of involvement at any ATP, ITF, WTA event and the Grand Slams as well.

“During the period of ineligibility, Casanova is prohibited from playing in, coaching at, or attending any tennis event authorized or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA (ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, Fédération Française de Tennis, Wimbledon, and USTA) or any national association,” the statement added.

Another major issue that is gripping the tennis world is online gambling. It has become pretty common in today’s day and age and has even led to players being harassed online. In fact, things had gotten so bad last year that some top players had opened up about the threats that they had received from the bettors.

Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek expose the dark side of betting

Keys had revealed a jaw-dropping story last October where she had learned that someone had tracked down her Venmo account after her defeat at the United Cup. Turns out that the person had lost a bet on Keys and had then threatened her by sending abusive messages.

“I’ll never forget being at United Cup and you guys searching for my Venmo, and I had a fake name because gamblers found me on Venmo and they sent me abusive messages requesting money after I lost,” she had said during an episode of The Player’s Box podcast.

This wasn’t the first time that Keys had been targeted by bettors. She had received threats on multiple occasions during the 2024 season as well.

“It was literally like, ‘I lost $5 on you, and it was my last $5. I hate you. I hope you die.’ And I’m like, ‘Bro, why are you spending $5 on this? I think you have other problems if it’s your last $5 and you’re betting it on a tennis match,” she had revealed.

Another player who has suffered the wrath of bettors is Iga Swiatek. She had also opened up about receiving threats after her defeat to Emma Navarro in the R16 of the China Open last year.

“Nowadays, this is a sad part of our reality in sports. Bots. Betting. But also ‘fans,” the Pole had shared on Instagram.

As players continue to speak up against the bettors, will the organizations like ATP and WTA finally decide to take strict action against them or will this become an even bigger issue in the coming future?