Any tennis player found to have been involved in corruption should be banned for life, according to Larry Scott, chief executive of the Women's Tennis Association.
LONDON: Any tennis player found to have been involved in corruption should be banned for life, according to Larry Scott, chief executive of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).
"Sport is nothing without the integrity and fairness of competition," Scott told the BBC in an interview.
"As a leader of sport, that is something I feel committed to. Therefore I think we must have the right to impose a lifetime ban on any athlete that was associated with corruption."
Scott, who ran the men's tour before joining the WTA in 2003, said anti-corruption would be "the first item on the agenda" when he addresses 250 players before the start of the Australian Open next weekend.
Earlier this week the men's and women's tours joined forces with the organisers of the four Grand Slams and the International Tennis Federation to announce a review of the sport's anti-corruption policies.
Scott said he believed the review could lead to the setting up of a joint unit across the sport with "policing and investigative powers" which could lead to prosecutions.
"We have identified that there's an awful lot of gambling on tennis and that players have been approached by people who are trying to persuade them to throw a match or provide information about a match with incentives of money," Scott told the BBC.
"That's obviously against all the rules. We've got no proof of corruption having taken place, so I don't believe there is any corruption in women's tennis now.
"But we are taking all reasonable steps to combat the threat and have been focussing a lot of attention on educating players on the importance of coming forward to share information with us.
"Several players have come forward to talk to us about the approaches (to throw matches). They have acted very, very responsibly by coming to us and ensuring we have this information."
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}