Realising undercover police officers were waiting off court was the moment Oliver Anderson knew he had been rumbled.
Anderson had just lost in the second round of an ATP Challenger tournament, but it was his previous match – a three-set comeback win – that sparked the attention of the authorities.
“Anyone who was watching that match would have instantly thought something was up,” the Australian recalls.
In January 2016, Anderson won the Australian Open boys’ singles title in front of a home crowd, demonstrating his potential in a field featuring future top-10 stars Stefanos Tsitsipas, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alex de Minaur.
Nine months later, the Brisbane teenager was busted for throwing a set.
A decade on, the 27-year-old – who has returned to the professional ranks after being ignited by a “quarter-life crisis” – is still uncomfortable talking in depth about the details.
“It all happened very quickly. I was approached, decided it was doable, I’m doing it, then I’m walking off the court and I’m in serious trouble,” he tells BBC Sport.
Match-fixing syndicates, known for preying on vulnerable victims, contacted Anderson in the days leading up to the now-notorious Challenger event in Traralgon, Australia.
The teenager’s progress had been derailed by injury after his Melbourne victory and, having missed several months of income following surgery, he thought purposely losing a set would be an easy way to fulfil financial commitments.
Footage of the match, external is damning. Loopy, long second serves are followed by 704th-ranked Anderson casually batting easy returns into the net.
Fellow Australian Harrison Lombe was ranked outside the top 1,500 but won the first set – as planned by the conspirators – before Anderson fought back for a 4-6 6-0 6-2 victory.
Anderson says he does not know how police were tipped off. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported, external a betting company became suspicious when a punter tried to lump A$10,000 (£5,000) on Lombe taking the opener.
The following day – wracked with guilt and regret – Anderson got “absolutely wiped” in a 6-2 6-1 defeat by John-Patrick Smith.
“All I could think is ‘this is absolutely nuts and there’s only me who knows what going on’,” Anderson says.
“Then I was met by undercover police. I knew I’d made an absolute blunder.”
