Tennis-Match-fixing could kill tennis, says ATP chief

By Martyn Herman

LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - ATP executive chairman and president Etienne de Villiers has again spoken of his determination to protect tennis from corruption.

The sport has been tarnished in recent weeks by several allegations of match-fixing and De Villiers said the issue was presenting "a serious threat" to the game.

"We are in the show business world and the basis for that is integrity," he said at a sports industry conference on Thursday. "If we are not true to the values of what our sport stands for, the sport dies.

"Sport endures because of its unpredictability, take that away and you don't have a show."

On the day that Martina Hingis announced she was retiring after testing positive for cocaine, De Villiers said he viewed match-fixing as a more serious threat than doping.

De Villiers was asked if he could envisage a grand slam final between two players who have served bans for doping.

"There is a code of practice in not just how we pursue drug testing but also the sanctions we put in place," he said.

"We take the view that you are allowed to make a mistake and come back. There are a number of reasons that people get into trouble with (doping) and if a kid serves his penance he should be allowed to come back.