ITIA bans French player for four years over match-fixing charges

The independent body in charge of safeguarding the integrity of tennis around the globe, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), announced a regulatory sanction against a French professional tennis player. Upon investigation, the Agency found Sherazad Reix, a 33-year-old French tennis player, guilty of match-fixing.

The ITIA explained that it uncovered a total of six breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) rules. Two of the breaches were related to 2018 TACP rule D.1.b, which states: "No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, solicit or facilitate any other person to wager on the outcome or any other aspect of any Event or any other tennis competition." Additionally, two breaches relate to rule D.1.d, which forbids any individual involved in professional tennis to contrive or attempt to contrive the outcome or aspect of any event.

One breach was related to TACP rule D.1.f and which forbids covered individuals from accepting money or other incentives to negatively impact the efforts of another player within any event. Finally, the Agency said that the player breached rule D.2.a.i, which mandates any individual that is approached or involved in illicit activities to report the incident to the governing body.

Considering the six breaches, the ITIA decided to impose a sanction against Reix. The sanction included a fine of $30,000, as well as a four-year ban from the sport. According to a statement released by the Agency on February 8, 2023, the ban is in effect from January 30, 2023, until January 29, 2027. During that time, Reix is forbidden from coaching, attending or participating in any event that is authorized or sanctioned by the governing bodies of tennis.

The latest sanction case was ruled by Amani Khalifa, an independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer. "The case related to ongoing law enforcement investigations in conjunction with the ITIA in Belgium, which has seen a number of tennis players implicated in match-fixing incidents," explains the Agency.

The latest ban comes after the ITIA imposed another sanction only recently. Earlier this month, the Agency enforced a 12-month ban against Gilbert Klier Junior, a Brazilian tennis player. Before that, back in January, the ITIA imposed a provisional suspension against the 26-year-old South African wheelchair tennis player, Mariska Venter.

Such sanctions come as no surprise, considering the vigilant eye of the ITIA. Recently, another organization focused on the integrity of sports, the International Betting Integrity Association, released a report outlining that the number of suspicious betting alerts in 2022increased by 14% year-over-year.

Judging by the figures from the report, the highest number of suspicious betting alerts out of any sport were flagged for tennis, a total of 102 for last year. In contrast, football was the sport with the second-highest number of suspicious reports which were 67.

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