Tennis Integrity Unit Investigating Online Gambling Surge

An Associated Press article out of London U.K is reporting that Tennis Authorities are investigating a WTA Tour match at the U.S. Open. Caroline Wozniacki apparently caused punters to wager excessively on her opponent when she was close to losing in straight sets.

The nineteen year old Danish born Wozniacki, is ranked the sixth best tennis player in the world. Her wise decision to withdraw from the first-round match at the Luxembourg Open was caused by a hamstring injury sustained while leading Anne Kremer of Luxembourg. A simple explanation for the betting surge was the overheard conversation that Wozniacki's father, Piotr, had with his daughter during the match. He apparently told his daughter to stop playing in his native language of Polish. He felt her leg injury would jeopardize her chances of being able to play the next round.

While speaking to Danish radio Piotr Wozniacki said, "I went onto the court and said to her: 'Caro, it does not matter whether it's going to be 5-0, 4-1 or 3-2. You can not play the next round, so you shouldn't take the risk," "I'm very proud of Caroline, because she stopped the fight and gave her opponent a chance."

The newly formed Tennis Integrity Unit is not commenting on the issue nor is Betfair who works with the unit to look into possible problems. WTA spokesperson Neil Robinson said, "We're just looking into everything that happened in this match,"

Betfair spokesperson Tony Calvin said, "Under the terms of our memorandum of understanding with sporting bodies worldwide, it is up to the sporting authorities to comment,"

Ekstra Bladet the Danish newspaper reported that Wozniacki professed her innocence and said, "So, people bet on my matches. Some win, others lose. I just know that I am clean. It is most important to me," adding, "And if anyone is in doubt about my injury, I can both produce scan from the hospital and a report from the tournament physiotherapist."

The young player could still face fines imposed by the International Tennis Federation for 'lack of effort.' There is really no evidence to suggest that Wozniacki conspired to fix the match.