Here comes another revelation that is bound to shock sports enthusiasts the world over. One was well aware of match-fixing scandals plaguing the cricket, but it has recently been revealed that even the tennis world is not untouched by it. Infact as many as 18 players participating in the 2008 Wimbledon championships are believed to have thrown their matches for money at The All England Club on previous occasions. This suspected players’ list is dominated mainly by Russians, Spaniards, Argentines, Italians and Austrians.

As per a report published in The Times, eight Wimbledon matches, out of which four falls in the category of men's singles games from previous year, are believed to have been pre-determined by professional betting syndicates. A top bookmaking firm has listed these matches in a report, in order to keep a tab on suspect betting patterns. This confidential report claims that five players who lost from the suspected eight Wimbledon games will be participating in the 2008 men’s singles competition that will kick off from June 23 onwards.

The findings of this report are based on the abrupt alteration in the betting patterns for the suspect tennis matches. It has provided a hard blow to tennis as a sport which is already embroiled in corruption charges in tournaments of the stature of Davis Cup. Moreover, it has also been underscored in the report that it is Russian and eastern European gamblers who are involved in the betting network. Infact some top names in the tennis arena have revealed that they were contacted by match fixers.