Panel to review 45 pro tennis matches

LONDON (AP) -- An independent panel concluded Monday that 45 professional tennis matches from the past five years require further review because of suspicious betting patterns.

The International Tennis Federation, the ATP, the WTA Tour and the four Grand Slams published the findings of the panel in a 66-page report.

The review said while ''professional tennis is neither institutionally nor systematically corrupt, it is potentially at a crossroads.''

The review said it had examined 73 matches over the past five years, and 45 remain under suspicion ''from a betting perspective.'' It didn't say which matches were under suspicion.

''That said, we have found no evidence of any 'Mafia' involvement in corrupting the integrity of tennis,'' the review said. ''We do not doubt that criminal elements may be involved in seeking to subvert or corrupt some players-officials and that they may even involve organized criminal gangs.''

The review was prompted by a series of events connected to gambling in tennis. Most prominently, an online betting site, in an unprecedented move, voided all bets on a match involving Nikolay Davydenko last year because of suspicious gambling patterns. The fourth-ranked Russian withdrew against 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello in the third set of a match in Poland, citing a foot injury.

The report also examines the practice of ''tanking,'' which it defines as ''a player not giving 'best efforts' in a match.'' While no specific recommendations were made, the report did ''urge officials to be alert to such activity and to deal with it as a break of the rules whenever such behavior can be proved.''

Another of the recommendations allows only players and essential tournament personnel to have access to the locker rooms at tournaments. The report said many believe that insider knowledge, such as a player's injury or illness that is not widely known, gets passed on to bettors.