Nick Kyrgios and brother face new questions over Aus Open controversy
The ABC has revealed Nick Kyrgios’ brother was paid $40,000 by Sportsbet at the 2018 Australian Open.
On Tuesday night, the ‘7.30’ program uncovered the payment that Christos Kyrgios received from the betting agency for wearing a number of branded shirts during Nick’s matches.
Christos wore a number of different shirts that said things like ‘Nick Nick Boom’ and ‘Chill Bro’.
The controversial showing reportedly sparked an investigation from the Tennis Integrity Unit at the time, resulting in the Sportsbet branding being removed from the final shirt that Christos wore.
“The matter was referred to the TIU at the time and we are unable to provide any further comment,” a Tennis Australia spokesperson told the ABC.
“The TIU does not disclose information about or make detailed comment on specific individual cases, unless they result in a conviction, which is then made public.
“Therefore, while we can confirm that the TIU is aware of the matter involving Christos Kyrgios at the Australian Open in 2018, we are unable to make any further comment on the subject.”
The ABC said Nick and Christos both declined to comment on their report.
Tennis has attempted to crack down on integrity issues in recent years, following a string of match-fixing incidents.
While there’s no suggestion of match-fixing in the Kyrgios incident, it may fall foul of new rules.
They state no ‘covered person’ (including players and relatives) “shall, directly or indirectly, solicit or facilitate any other person to wager on the outcome or any other aspect of any event or any other tennis competition”.
Global Sports Integrity director Mark Phillips told the ABC he believed the Kyrgios incident “was a clear breach of the tennis rules as they stand.”
A Sportsbet spokesman reportedly told the ABC that it supported tennis integrity rules.
“Sportsbet takes its commitment to sports integrity very seriously and we have at all times adhered to our obligations with sports governing bodies,” the spokesman said.