A lot of people are getting very hot under the collar about match-fixing in tennis – but is it not just a storm in a teacup?

The opening Grand Slam event of the season, the Australian Open, has been played under a cloud (metaphorical obviously as real ones would have kept the sun off) with a number of accusations flying about.

World No1 Novak Djokovic has even been targeted as a possible wrong-doer, but it was hardly surprising to hear a vehement denial from the Serbian star.

It is hard to see what any of the top players – particularly the big four of Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray – would gain from throwing a match.

The rewards in tennis are not small and, while I won’t even begin to guess what you can get off a bent bookie out to make a few dollars, none of that quartet strike me as they type of competitor who would want to produce anything but their best.

However, given the pre-eminence of those four it would be easy to see how a player outside the top 10 or 20 whose career is no longer upwardly mobile being tempted to supplement their income by taking a dive in the early rounds of a major tournament.

Surely spot betting fixes would be more easily contrived, for instance four first serves into the net in a specific game, or if you fancy yourself as the new Jeffrey Gail Tarango, arranging to throw a tempestuous tantrum at the end of game five of the second set.

Apparently those making the rather less than specific claims, say that the alleged match-fixing is not as rife in the women’s game.

Well aside from the force of nature that is Serena Williams, the women’s game is far from predictable.

In one of the unlikeliest major finals in women’s tennis history, the 26th-seeded Flavia Pennetta beat fellow Italian Roberta Vinci 7-6 6-2 at Flushing Meadows in last year’s US Open singles final.

Fixed or just a sign of the fact the women’s game is truly an open contest?

Given the fact there are large amounts of money to be earned by interested parties in the women’s game by other means – ie promoting fashion items, watches, sportswear and so on – fixing surely has potential by keeping favoured players in tournaments longer.

For example, Anna Kournikova remains one of the game’s most famous players despite never winning a Grand Slam singles title – her success was confined to doubles wins with Martina Hingis.

Russian star Anna Kournikova

Given the high-profile and potential to shift many a product from shampoo, to perfume, to perhaps even athlete’s foot powder, it was amazing someone didn’t fix it for Kournikova to stay in singles tournaments a lot longer to get more exposure.

Or then again, maybe they did?

Netball is about to see if they can reap the benefits from getting bigger backing from satellite television.

Last season Sky Sports dipped their toe in the water as they televised a number top flight matches – including Yorkshire Jets live from Huddersfield University.

The interest proved strong enough for Sky to decide that netball is worth the full’ Premier League’ treatment this term and on Saturday the new Superleague season kicks off with a special opening blast with all eight teams in action at Birmingham’s Genting Arena.

England Under 19 netball player and former Lindley Junior School Pupil, Lydia Walker in a training session with netball players during her visit to her former school.

The Jets, who boast Lindley’s very own England Under 21 international Lydia Walker in their ranks, are second on the bill as they go up against Loughborough Lightning.

Last year’s Superleague runners-up Hertfordshire Mavericks open the show against Celtic Dragons and Manchester Thunder face Team Northumbria before last year’s champions Surrey Storm play in the finale against Team Bath.