Suspicious French Open blowout game prompts officials to launch investigation into potential match-fixing at Roland-Garros

• Suspicious activity at Roland-Garros has prompted officials to launch an investigation into potential match-fixing within this year's French Open, L'Equipe and Die Welt reported.
• A first-round women's doubles match played September 30 raised eyebrows after tens of thousands of euros were bet on a specific second-set game that resulted in a blowout.
• French authorities seem to suspect gang activity spanning multiple countries could be behind the corruption, according to AFP.

French officials are investigating potential match-fixing at Roland-Garros after a particularly suspicious French Open game elicited strangely large bets, according to reporting from French publication L'Equipe and German newspaper Die Welt.

A first-round women's doubles match featuring Romanian duo Andreea Mitu and Patricia Maria Tig facing off against Russian-American partners Yana Sizikova and Madison Brengle raised eyebrows thanks to a single game during the Romanians' 7-6, 6-4 victory.

Midway through the second set, with the score drawn at two games apiece, Sizikova served three double faults and botched a mid-court volley after appearing to sit on her heels near the baseline. Mitu and Maria Tig took the game with ease after Sizikova and Brengle failed to win a single point.

—Stefano Berlincioni (@Carretero77) October 1, 2020

Tens of thousands of euros were on the line thanks to massive bets from various countries placed on the Romanian pair winning the game. French authorities appear to suspect that gang involvement could be behind the corruption, as prosecutors referenced pursuing "fraud in an organized group," AFP reported.

Jean-François Vilotte — the director general of French tennis — said their ability to identify dubious behavior despite the bets having been spread out across the globe "means that these warning systems are working."

"It's good that everyone is doing their part in the exchange of information," he added, per AFP. "You have to be vigilant, process the information, monitor, and cooperate. That's what is at work there. So we can only congratulate ourselves that these international cooperation mechanisms are working."

Though match-fixing occasionally happens in the world of professional tennis, it's normally restricted to lower-level events and rarely seen at Grand Slams like the French Open. Sizikova and Brengle were eliminated from the tournament upon losing the match that is now under investigation, while Mitu and Maria Tig won their next match in straight sets before losing in the third round.

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