Eight players in Australian Open suspected of match-fixing

Some secret files exposing widespread match-fixing in Tennis have rocked the Australian Open as about eight players, who were found suspicious in the past, are in the main draw of the 2016 tournament.

According to the reports, the BBC and Buzzfeed received a cache of documents dating back to 2007 from an anonymous group, alleging widespread suspected match-fixing at the top level of world tennis.

The BBC said that a total of 16 players from the top 50 have been repeatedly flagged to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) over suspicions that they have thrown matches, adding that eight of them are still due to play in the Australian Open, the Guardian reported.

Former police chief constable Benn Gunn, whose original review of betting in tennis led to the creation of the TIU, said that there was an immediate need to create an integrity unit in order to deal with the issue.

Meanwhile, European Sports Security Association believes the game of tennis attracts more suspicious gambling activity than any other sports.

Mark Phillips, who was involved in the 2007 investigation, said about 10 players were the most common perpetrators who are at the root of the problem.

The report further revealed that none of these core players had faced sanctions.