Henin backs life bans for cheats

World number one Justine Henin believes tennis authorities should take a zero tolerance stance on cheats and give life bans to those caught match-fixing.

Tennis has been hit by a series of match-fixing allegations recently.

And, asked whether players should be banned for life if they are found to be involved in match-fixing, Henin told BBC's Inside Sport: "For sure, yes.

"I am zero tolerance about that. It is very important and this kind of thing should not happen."

Inside Sport: Justine Henin

Men's tennis has been dogged by speculation over match-fixing in recent months with several players, including Arnaud Clement, Michael Llodra and Gilles Elseneer saying they had turned down offers to throw matches.

The tour is doing a great job and we want to keep (tennis) a healthy sport Justin Henin

Meanwhile, world number four Nikolay Davydenko continues to be investigated following the discovery of unusual betting patterns on his match against Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello in Poland in August.

However Henin, who clinched the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships title in Madrid, said she had not witnessed such activities herself.

"It's pretty sad," she added. "I can tell you I have never heard anything or no-one ever came to me, but if we talk about that it means it probably exists in the sport.

"It's not easy to find out what happened and if it happened because we have no proof about that at this time, but it is like doping for me - it is not more important or less important.

"The tour is doing a great job and we want to keep (tennis) a healthy sport."