Did Bobby Riggs Throw the Battle of the Sexes Tennis Match?

Forty years later multiple news sources including Yahoo Sports have found new information that the 'Battle of the Sexes' tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Bill Jean King was fixed. This historic match between 55-year-old tennis star and former champion Bobby Riggs and then 29-year-old phenom Bill Jean King would settle the bragging rights for the gender that won however it might have been a sham all along.

Riggs was known as a hustler in his early days often losing early matches on purpose to then come back and beat his opponents handily. As years went by he became associated with those that had Mafia ties. Because of his past and associations, London betting parlors didn't take action on this match.

Earlier that year Riggs already easily beat the number one female tennis player so how could he possibly lose to King, the current number two female tennis player? Odds makers installed Riggs as the favorite and according to most very few put any money on King. Of course the unthinkable happened and King defeated Riggs in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 and 6-3.

Forty years later a golf pro in Tampa by the name of Hal Shaw has come forward with new information on this questionable match. Fearing retribution Shaw kept his secret until now and decided to finally set the record straight. According to Jay Busbee at Yahoo Sports, "Shaw recently told ESPN's Outside the Lines that he heard several notable Mafia figures, including Santo Trafficante Jr. and Carlos Marcello, discussing how Riggs would throw the match in order to pay off more than $100,000 in gambling debts."

Many questioned this match as it unfolded and maybe the truth has finally been revealed, it was fixed.    

Biogenesis Scandal Expands to Other Major Sports

Biogenesis, the Miami anti-aging clinic tied to performance enhancing drug (PED) use by baseball players has wider list of professional athletes tied to them than first believed. Initially thought to be tied to just MLB players, now reports from SB Nation and others are linking NBA, MMA, boxing and tennis players. Former Biogenesis employee Porter Fischer divulged the information about the companies owner Tony Bosch and who they provided PED's to in an interview with ESPN's "Outside the Lines". Ryan Braun in baseball has already accepted a season ending 65 game suspension from MLB. So who will be next and from which sport?

Former Tennis Star Jimmy Connors Wagered on Himself to Win Wimbledon

Former Tennis star Jimmy Connors released his memoir 'The Outsider' last week which touches on his roller coaster career in Tennis and his personal life. Some interesting topics that are touched on is Connors competitiveness along with his gambling habits. He stated that he placed big wagers on himself to win Wimbledon at a London betting house. This is oddly familiar territory like Pete Rose and baseball. I have not read this book yet or know if this is answered in the book so questions remain if he bet on Tennis often, was he always betting on himself and was he always betting on himself to win? Will we see the International Tennis Federation take any action even though Connors is already in the International Tennis Hall of Fame or will history be left in the past?

Tennis Player Daniel Koellerer Banned for Life for Match-Fixing

Tennis player Daniel Koellerer lost his appeal yesterday and is now banned for life from tennis for match-fixing. Koellerer allegedly approached other tennis players from October 2009 to July 2010 to fix matches. The tennis governing bodies found enough evidence to uphold its original ruling and handed down the first lifetime ban in the sport.

More Corruption in Tennis

Although no specified reason has been give at this point, tennis player Lucas Renard has been suspended for six months for violating the sport's anti-corruption rules and fined $5,000 according to the Tennis Integrity Unit. 19-year-old Renard is the 882nd-ranked player and usually plays on the lower level circuits where the lure of a quick buck might be stronger.

Tennis Player David Savic Banned for Life

The 659th ranked player on the ATP tour has been banned for life for fixing tennis matches and also fined $100,000.  The Uniform Tennis Anti-Corruption Program found David Savic guilty of three violations including contriving or attempting to contrive the outcome of matches.

Tennis Player Banner for Life

385th ranked tennis player Daniel Koellerer has been banned for life from the sport for match-fixing.  The Tennis Integrity Unit confirmed this information earlier this week making Koellerer the first player ever banned for life.  As I always say it's all about the money.  Everyone has a price but Daniel paid a big one here.

Management Betting on Clients - Ted Forstmann

Chairman of the most powerful management company (IMG) in Tennis Ted Frostmann has been accused of betting millions of dollars on sports events including tennis events involving his own clients such as Roger Federer.  Forstmann admitted to betting $40,000 on Federer to beat Rafael Nadal at the 2007 French Open final which Federer ended up losing.  Both Federer and Nadal are IMG clients.  Forstmann states he did nothing wrong it was just bad judgement.  Tennis just introduced an anti-corruption program this year which forbids management and entourages from betting on tennis so will probably be cleared of any wrongdoing.  These insiders have the most current and inside information such as player injuries and therefore should not be allowed to bet regardless if there was an anti-corruption program or not.  Although he lost this bet who knows how many other matches he won on insider information on his very own tennis player clients?

Irregular Betting Patterns on Tennis Match

A tennis match between Richard Bloomfield and Christophe Rochus last month had an unusual amount wagered on it according to Betfair.  More than 1 million pounds ($1.5 million) and a dramatic price movement have tennis officials investigating.  This is about 15-20 times the normal amount wagered on similar matches at this level.  Bloomfield is ranked 552 in the world and Rochus 160.  Before the match they were even money but in a few hours Bloomfield went to 1-4 odds which is a dramatic shift and risk to gamblers.  The player everyone bet on, Bloomfield did end up winning this match.