British players approached to throw matches, claims coach

Scott Clayton is one of two British players Dave Sammel claims were approached to throw matches. Steve Bardens/Getty Images

Two low-ranked British players were approached to throw matches as recently as two years ago, according to their coach Dave Sammel.

Sammel said Richard Gabb and Scott Clayton, the world's No.324 and No.372 respectively, were confronted at a tournament by Russian player Andrey Kumantsov.

The young pair -- Gabb is 23 years old and Clayton 21 -- rejected the approach and immediately reported it to the authorities, he added, with investigations into Kumantsov apparently already under way. The Russian was subsequently banned from the sport for life.

Sammel, the head coach at Bath's high performance centre, told the Press Association: "There was a Russian player who approached two of my guys.

"He had been approaching other players. He was doing it in Turkey and then he did it at a Futures [tournament] in England, and he got done for it. I told them they needed to report it immediately.

"I do know when they've been at Futures in Turkey that they've been approached to throw matches or sets. But that's all at Futures level. I've never heard of anything directly at Challenger or Tour level."

Futures tournaments represent the entry-level competition rung in professional tennis and are run by the ITF. They are below Challenger and ATP Tour events on the men's game ladder.

Sammel's claim comes as the Tennis Integrity Unit, which enforces the sport's anti-corruption code of conduct, has come under scrutiny following a report by the BBC and BuzzFeed that alleged match-fixing was not being properly investigated.

The two media companies cited 16 unnamed players around whom there was persistent suspicion but who had been allowed to continue playing.

On Wednesday, Novak Djokovic denied "absurd" allegations in Italian newspaper Tuttosport that he wanted to lose a match in 2007.

A report in The Times, in England, meanwhile alleged that around a decade ago some British players took money from betting rings for inside information on other competitors.

However, no source or evidence was cited. The ITF was unavailable for comment and the LTA refused to address the claims.

Instead, LTA chief executive Michael Downey underlined the work British tennis' governing body to protect the sport.

He said: "We care passionately about integrity in our sport. It is one of the cornerstone values in British tennis and is why I'm pleased the tennis community is fighting hard against match-fixing.

"The LTA supports players not just through funding and coaching but with all the different aspects of being an elite player. This includes our education programmes -- of which the anti-corruption tutorial is a key part.

"Four years ago we decided to make this course mandatory for all players who have received direct LTA high performance support funding or the tournament bonus scheme."

The Press Association contributed to this report.