Tennis Australia was tipped off about match-fixing allegations more than a month before the Australian Open, with the ATP warning players of the bombshell that was about to be dropped.
Fairfax Media has been told the ATP informed all players of the allegations at a compulsory meeting at a Melbourne hotel on Saturday. It is understood Tennis Australia also spoke to the management teams of several Australian players leading into the tournament, to familiarise them with the allegations that were subsequently released by BBC and Buzzfeed on Monday.
A number of players are understood to have been approached in the past month by several media organisations in regards to reports about suspicious betting and match-fixing in the sport. It is also understood Tennis Australia was aware of the players that the BBC and Buzzfeed believed had allegedly been involved in matches with suspicious betting fluctuations. 
The joint report did not release the players' names, referring to them by code. It is understood Buzzfeed contacted the Tennis Integrity Unit as far back as   May for information, although that was the last correspondence that was had before the story broke on the opening day of the Australian Open.
On Thursday, another website, Show Legend, claimed to have decoded the Buzzfeed algorithm and released a list of names on social media, including Lleyton Hewitt's, that it alleged was the focus of the BBC/Buzzfeed report.
The third-party report strongly refuted any suggestion Hewitt was involved in any dubious activity.
The ATP and Tennis Australia are also hellbent on ensuring the Australian legend's reputation is not tarnished by the whole episode.
It is understood the ATP and Tennis Australia solicitors are ready to launch a legal attack on any organisation that implies the two-time grand slam champion is involved or connected to match-fixing. Fairfax Media contacted Hewitt's agent David Drysdale, who backed his client's stand in the press conference following his exit from the Australian Open on Thursday night.
"It is absolutely ludicrous that anyone would think Lleyton Hewitt would be involved in anything like this," Drysdale said. "Everyone in this country knows his character and there's no questioning his integrity."
Using an algorithm from information provided in the Buzzfeed report, decoders allegedly identified 15 players and a series of matches that raised flags because of betting irregularities.
Fifteen of Hewitt's matches were flagged, including at least one in the Davis Cup, outraging tennis purists and a country that widely recognises the 34-year-old as one of the most competitive athletes Australia has produced.
While Hewitt's farewell was somewhat overshadowed by the speculation, he did not shy away from the drama, describing it as "absurd" that his name had been thrown into the controversy.
"I think it's a joke to deal with it," Hewitt said of the saga after his career-ending straight-sets loss to David Ferrer. "You know, obviously, yeah, there's no possible way. I know my name's now been thrown into it. I don't think anyone here would think that I've done anything corruption or match-fixing. It's just absurd.
"For anyone that tries to go any further with it, then good luck. Take me on with it. Yeah, it's disappointing. I think throwing my name out there ... makes the whole thing an absolute farce."
Hewitt is not the only high-profile tennis player to have his name publicly linked to suspicious betting activity.
A report in Italian newspaper Tuttosport linked Djokovic to betting irregularities in a match he lost in 2007 to Frenchman Fabrice Santoro. The world No.1 strongly denied the accusations, also describing it as absurd.
"It's not true," Djokovic said.