On Friday, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) revealed that six more tennis players had been suspended and fined for their ties to a match-fixing syndicate based in Belgium.
This latest round of sanctions brings the total number of players punished in connection with the scandal to nearly thirty.
As of the time of writing, five of the suspected players have admitted their involvement in the scheme which relates to matches played in 2017 and 2018.
The syndicate, orchestrated by Grigor Sargsyan, had been under investigation for years. Sargsyan himself was sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement, and now, more players have faced disciplinary actions.
Significant suspensions and penalties
The most severe penalty handed down was to Agustin Moyano, a 34-year-old Argentine who was banned for 15 years and fined 10,000 dollars. Moyano, who denied the charges and requested a full hearing, had previously achieved a career-high ranking of No. 1,343 in 2015.
Meanwhile, five other players-David Guez, Jerome Inzerillo, Romain Bauvy, Yannick Jankovits, and François-Arthur Vibert-admitted to the charges, which were linked to matches played during 2017 and 2018. Their suspensions ranged from two years to five years and seven months.
Of the six, David Guez had the most notable career. The 42-year-old Frenchman reached a career-high ranking of No. 116 in 2010 and earned over 800,000 dollars in prize money. Guez was handed a four-year suspension and a 25,000-dollar fine, though 17,500 dollars of that amount was suspended. Notably, Guez hasn’t competed in an official match since 2018.
The ITIA continues to prioritize the integrity of tennis by investigating match-fixing and ensuring that players involved in such schemes are held accountable.