The recent report, published jointly on BBC and the website BuzzFeed, alleging widespread match-fixing in tennis was shocking, especially because tennis is one of those sports widely perceived as elegant and beautiful. While we need to await the official investigation, if it is proved that 16 of the top-50 players have been repeatedly suspected of fixing matches for betting syndicates, it will shatter our views about the sport.
Tennis isn’t alone in losing heroes. Corruption and cheating have been exposed in sports as diverse as cricket, cycling, football and horse racing. If the sports of kings and gentlemen can’t be trusted, what can?
At least in entertainment sports like professional wrestling, it is well-known that the moves are choreographed and the results determined in advance. Could it be that the sport where men and women fight in brightly coloured costumes under outlandish names is really the most honest sport of all?
