Wozniacki in betting probe after retirement
LONDON – The WTA’s Tennis Integrity Unit is to investigate Caroline Wozniacki’s decision to retire from a game in which she was leading her opponent 7-5, 5-0.
Gamblers on Betfair, the leading betting exchange, cleaned up on her opponent, Anne Kremer of Luxembourg, at odds of up to 40/1.
Wozniacki, who made the finals of this year’s US Open, was playing in the first round match of the Luxembourg Open and was about to win in straight sets.
The Dane, who was suffering from a hamstring injury, was advised by her father to retire on the basis that she would not be able to play in the next round because of her injury.
Piotr Wozniacki’s comments, in his native Polish, were heard on courtside microphones and broadcast to Internet viewers. Some of those viewers then bet against Wozniacki.
Her father told Danish radio: “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 WTA said that its Tennis Integrity Unit would look into the circumstances of the match: “We’re just looking into everything that happened in this match,” said WTA spokesman Neil Robinson
The Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet quoted Wozniacki as saying: “So, people bet on my matches. Some win, others lose. I just know that I am clean. It is most important to me. And if anyone is in doubt about my injury, I can both produce scan from the hospital and a report from the tournament physiotherapist.”
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