Along with hiring Jeff Rees, tennis' four governing bodies adopted an anti-corruption code to ensure the same set of penalties apply across the professional ranks.
The WTA and ATP tours, the International Tennis Federation and the Grand Slam Committee hope to avoid a repeat from the 2007 season, which included a gambling investigation into a match involving Nikolay Davydenko and the suspensions of three players for betting on matches.
Rees, who previously worked for the International Cricket Council's security unit, was part of an independent panel that issued a report in May saying 45 matches merited further investigation because of irregular betting patterns.
"We do not doubt that criminal elements may be involved in seeking to subvert or corrupt some players or players' support staff; that may even involve organized criminal gangs, but to elevate that suspicion to a claim of 'Mafia' involvement is, in our view, a distortion of the facts and is positively damaging to the sport,'' the 66-page report said.
The panel also made 15 recommendations that tennis' governing bodies accepted. Among them: "Any player caught cheating should be punished by a lengthy suspension for a first offense and, if the circumstances merit it, a life ban.''
"I am very encouraged by the willingness of the sport's governing bodies to take bold and proactive initiative in combating this threat to the game,'' Rees said.
PGA CHIEF KEEN ON OLYMPIC GOLF
NHLPA take issue with IIHF suspensions
45 suspicious tennis matches to be investigated
