Tennis
Tennis player handed lifetime ban for breaking corruption rules as four others punished
A tennis player has been banned for life by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for breaching the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP). The player and four others were hit with punishments linked to a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium. Grigor Sargsyan, the syndicate leader, previously received a five-year custodial sentence for his involvement.
None of the five players who were sanctioned on Friday have ever been inside the world’s top 200. Yannick Thivant was issued a lifetime ban after admitting to fixing 22 matches between 2017 and 2018. He played in 16 of those matches. The 38-year-old was also hit with a fine of £58,019, in addition to £28,929 in restitution.
