Three Wimbledon matches to be investigated for possible match-fixing

Two matches from the qualifying event at Roehampton, one from the main draw at SW19 and one from last month's French Open are set to be reviewed

(AFP/Getty Images)

The Wimbledon Championships were rocked on Thursday morning as it was announced that three matches at this month's tournament are to be investigated for possible match-fixing.

The Tennis Integrity Unit announced that alerts were triggered on two matches at the qualifying event at Roehampton and one from the main draw at SW19 after some unusual betting patterns.

The matches will now be reviewed by the TIU in keeping with its match alert policy, along with one from last month's French Open, though the unit stressed that an alert is not evidence of match-fixing.

Those are four of 53 alerts received by the TIU since April, with three coming on the men's ATP Tour and one on the women's WTA Tour. The rest came on the lower level Challenger, Futures and ITF Women's circuits.

The latest figures show a drop in the number of alerts from the same period last year, where 73 were received in 2016. The first six months of 2017 has seen 83 alerts raised in total, 38 less than last year.

In a statement on its website, the TIU said: "These will be assessed and reviewed in keeping with the TIU match alert policy below."

The TIU added that an alert on its own is "not evidence of match-fixing" and can be due to a number of other factors, including conditions and player fitness.