ITIA suspends more players over match-fixing

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has confirmed that three Nigerian tennis players have been named in the organization’s latest enforcement action, having been found guilty of breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program, or TACP.

Three more tennis players were issued with suspensions

The three players named in the enforcement action are all involved in a match-fixing incident and were supposedly in cahoots with a match-fixing syndicate based in Belgium. The ITIA’s investigation and investigating officer, Amani Khalifa, has offered details about each of the players.

One of them was Henry Atseye who hit a career-high ranking of 1518 in September 2015. Atseye has admitted to six breaches of integrity rules between 2017 and 2018. The player said that he had conspired with Karim Hossam, a fellow tennis player who was banned from the sport in 2018, to fix various tennis matches.

Atseye will now have to sit out from the sport until April 13, 2027, serving a two-year-and-six-month suspension along with a $10,000 financial penalty. While Atseye collaborated with the ITIA, the other two players, Sylvester Emmanuel and Christian Paul, failed to engage with investigators.

Emmanuel has been suspended from the sport for three years through November 5, 2027, the same as Paul. Both players will also have to foot a $10,000 fine. They may not appear at or attend in any capacity events that are part of ITIA, including WTA, ATP, ITF, Tennis Australia, Fédération Française de Tennis, Wimbledon and USTA.

Tennis has historically been susceptible to match-fixing

Tennis has been one of the sports most liable to prevent match-fixing. IBIA has frequently cited the sport as one where the most suspicious bets have been flagged. ITIA in the meantime has issued a report for the second quarter, citing 19 match alerts that could involve match-fixing behavior.

One of the biggest suspensions issued by ITIA to date is that of Alberto Rojas Maldonado, who was handed down a lifetime ban from the sport and issued an eye-watering $250,000 fine in 2023.

Image credit: Unsplash.com