LONDON: The Tennis Integrity Unit has revealed it received 48 alerts of suspicious betting on matches in the first quarter of the year. The TIU, which has been criticised for a lack of transparency, announced the figures in the first of a quarterly series of updates on its work. Alerts are received from the betting industry and the TIU investigates any where analysis suggests corrupt activity may have taken place. The breakdown of the figures supports the assumption that most match-fixing offences occur at the lower levels of the sport. Of the 48 suspicious matches, one took place at the Australian Open, one on the WTA Tour, and the remaining 46 at either Challengers or Futures tournaments, with 36 of those being men’s matches. Forty-eight is an increase from the 31 alerts received in the same period last year, but represents only 0.2 per cent of the 24,110 matches played during the three months. In total in 2015, 246 alerts were received. The TIU also gave an update on the independent review of the sport’s anti-corruption practices, which was set up following allegations it had failed to properly investigate reports of match-fixing. The briefing note said: “Under the leadership of Adam Lewis QC, the work of the panel to date has included preliminary meetings with the sport’s governing bodies, collation of core documents and contact with persons of interest to obtain relevant information. “In addition, the panel has identified a list of issues and areas of inquiry and begun a further schedule of interviews and research.” The TIU is pressing forward with an investigation into Australian Nick Lindahl after he was found guilty of match-fixing at a court in Sydney. Lindahl, who retired in 2013, was fined Aus$1,000 (£538) and given a 12-month good behaviour bond. The TIU said: “The TIU has worked closely with Australian law enforcement agencies on the case since September 2013. “Criminal proceedings take precedence over tennis discipline but, now that sentence has been passed, TIU investigations under the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program will move forward.”