Bernard Tomic questioned as part of investigation into suspicious betting involving two matches including the 2022 Australian Open

The Australian Open was rocked by news Bernard Tomic was interviewed as part of a police strike force investigation into suspicious betting on two of his matches. That just scratches the surface in tennis’s long fight against corruption.

Each year, the Australian Open proudly boasts that it attracts more people than ever. But what organisers don’t mention is that not everyone is there to watch the tennis.

Included among the record crowds are always a small number of “persons of interest”, which is code for criminals, often on the lookout for any players and match officials open to bribes and match fixing.

The crooks don’t waste their time trying to rig the results of grand slam matches, or lure superstar players into their web. Their main targets are the battlers and the up and comers who are struggling in the lower tiers, because that’s where almost all corruption in tennis happens.

For the sport’s insiders, the latest report that another scrapper, in this instance Australia’s Bernard Tomic, had apparently been investigated over betting irregularities, is sadly all too familiar.

It’s already well documented that tennis integrity officials are being run off their feet looking into all the claims of corruption in the sport’s lower levels. Of the 109 match alerts investigated in 2022, only five were at the highest level. In 2023, there were 101 match alerts including just one from the top tour.

Two matches involving one of Australia’s great wasted sporting talents were reportedly the subject of inquiries by a police strike force in yet another chapter to Tomic’s wild career.

The talented former world No.17 was reportedly interviewed by anti-corruption investigators over suspicious wagering on two matches including one at the 2022 Australian Open qualifying.

A report by Nine Newspapers says Police Strike Force Whyman was launched in early 2022 following suspicious bets in Tomic’s qualifying defeat to Russian Roman Safiullin and another match involving the Gold Coaster in Turkey in 2021.

Tomic speaks to the umpire during his match against Roman Safiullin in 2022. Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

Tomic was interviewed by tennis authorities who were given access to his phone.

The police probe ended without any charges being laid after it failed to produce enough evidence relating to the suspicious bets with multiple betting agencies with payouts that ranged from $10,000 to $180,000.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Tomic, only that he was caught up in the probe.

Tomic is currently listed at 212th. He is registered to play a challenger event in Brisbane in the first week of February after failing to qualify for the Australian Open.

While he was absent from Melbourne Park, the first grand slam of 2025 was heavily attended by investigators, including undercover agents, from International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) and local law enforcement agencies.

While their prime role of integrity officials is to oversee the blood and urine anti-doping programs in place to catch drug cheats, they’ve also been given increased powers to seize the mobile phones of any players or officials suspected of criminal activities.

“For operational reasons, we do not comment on individuals, specific matches or whether someone is under investigation or not,” an ITIA spokesman told this masthead.

“The ITIA is responsible for the Tennis Anti-Doping and Anti-Corruption Programmes. Part of our role is to investigate potential betting-related match fixing in the events organised by our funders [ATP, WTA, ITF and Grand Slams], across the tennis season.

“Where there is evidence to proceed, this can result in a charge and if proven, can result in sanctions.”

There is no suggestion 0f wrongdoing by Bernard Tomic, only that he was caught up in the probe. Picture: Tony Gough

While anti-doping cases still get all the headlines, corruption is a far more prevalent problem in tennis.

There have been rumours of underhand activities taking place in tennis for decades but it was only after the ITIA was established in 2021 - and the agency began sharing classified intelligence with Australian and international law enforcement agencies - that the true scope of criminal involvement came to light.

A 2021 Europol report on organised crime groups in sports corruption identified tennis as one of the main sports that criminals were targeting to make a quick buck.

In just the third quarter of last year, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) — the global watchdog for the licensed betting industry — was notified about 42 suspicious alerts from different sports around the world. A third of all the alerts were related to tennis.

In each of the last three years, the ITIA has received more than 100 alerts, including many that have led to convictions and lifetime bans.

Overseas cases have shown that criminals will stop at nothing to entrap those involved in sport — including blackmailing them with money loans, recreational drugs and even honeytrap prostitutes.

The amount of money bet on tennis is eye-watering with IBIA saying $7.1 billion was wagered on the sport, across all levels, in 2024. That figure is forecast to rise to $11.3 billion by 2028.

Bernard Tomic failed to qualify for the Australian Open. Picture: Getty Images

The ITIA even has a section on its website devoted entirely to sanctions that have been imposed on participants. For corruption cases, the list runs for pages with over 50 people given lifetime bans.

The most complex case, which was investigated for over five years before being settled in 2023, involved an organised crime ring in Belgium.

The ringleader was an Armenian match fixer, nicknamed the Maestro, who was sentenced to five years in jail after running a sting involving more than 180 tennis players in more than 375 matches.

A year earlier, former Chilean professional player and coach Sebastian Rivera was banned for life and fined $360,000 after being found guilty of 64 match fixing offences, the highest number ever detected for any player.

It’s not just players involved in illegal activities. In 2022, three Tunisian chair umpires were given lengthy bans for deliberately inputting the wrong results into their electronic scoring devices.

“Our approach is very much intelligence-led, meaning we will seek out information and evidence from a variety of sources,” said Jenni Kennedy, the ITIA’s Senior Director, Intelligence & Investigations.

“The relationships we have with the betting industry are vital to this work, as the information we receive and provide to them helps us all keep on top of an ever-evolving risk.”

Originally published as Bernard Tomic questioned as part of investigation into suspicious betting involving two matches including the 2022 Australian Open