TENNIS is a “fertile breeding ground” for corruption and is engulfed in a “tsunami” of betting-related graft at lower levels due to online gambling, according to the newly published Independent Review of Integrity in Tennis.

The probe was set up in February 2016 following allegations that leading players, including grand slam winners, were involved in match-fixing and that evidence had been suppressed.

More than two years later the review panel, in publishing its interim report, claimed tennis faces a “serious integrity problem,” particularly at the lower levels of the sport where players often struggle to break even, and especially on the men’s circuits.