Bhupathi to meet with tennis body to keep new league clean

The founder of the soon to be launched International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) Mahesh Bhupathi is planning to meet with the sport's integrity unit in London next month to try to insure the competition is not affected by illegal gambling and spot-fixing.

The founder of the soon to be launched International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), Indian doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi, is planning to meet with the sport's integrity unit in London next month to try to insure the competition is not affected by illegal gambling and spot-fixing.

The league, due to start in late 2014, has been compared in format with cricket's Indian T20 League, a competition recently embroiled in a spot-fixing scandal.

The IPTL will take place in six as yet undecided cities across Asia and will see some of the sport's biggest names drafted into teams to play against each other in one-set shootout tennis.

Bhupathi said they will do all they can to insure the league is unaffected by the problems that have tarnished cricket.

"I have some meetings with people who are part of the Tennis Integrity Unit in London next month," Bhupathi said in an interview with Reuters at the French Open in Paris.

"We will try and batten down as much as we can to insure we do not have these issues.

Bhupathi said a number of cities were under consideration to form teams for the tennis league including Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Jakarta, Manilla, Bangalore, Calcutta, Doha and Dubai.

"There is a couple of important criteria, the first is that they have to have an international airport, security, stadium size, so we have a mandate," Bhupathi said.

"At the end of the day, we would like to spread it, ideally in the first year, I don't want to have two teams in India, even if there is demand because of the T20 League's success. As we grow, we plan to start with six and grow over time."