NEW YORK—The Tennis Integrity Unit is investigating suspicious betting patterns during the first-round meeting between Timea Bacsinszky and Vitalia Diatchenko at the U.S. Open, according to The New York Times.
According to the newspaper, a Russian betting agency issued a betting alert for the match, and an online betting site temporarily suspended betting during the encounter.
Bacsinszky, a heavy favorite, won 6-1, 6-1.
The 26-year-old Diatchenko, ranked No. 677, got into the main draw with a protected ranking. She had been off the tour with an injury since the French Open. She told The New York Times that she did not know what led to the apparent irregular betting.
A betting alert can indicate potential match-fixing, but it can also arise for several other reasons.
USTA spokesperson Chris Widmaier said the USTA was "aware" of the TIU investigation, and it had, upon request, provided a tape of the match.
"We believe that this is an isolated incident, as betting alerts can be triggered by a number of different practices,” he told *USA Today*. “…We do not believe that there is anything nefarious here.”
The TIU is responsible for policing integrity issues in tennis.