Biggest match-fixing scandal in the history of tennis continues to run riot with 7 more Belgian casualties

Problems with match fixing in the sport have continued as the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) revealed that seven Belgian players had been suspended for breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).

The suspensions are linked to a criminal case involving a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium, which led to its worldwide Armenian leader Grigor Sargsyan (Washington Post investigative report here) being given a five-year custodial sentence. It is believed that the man living in Brussels held more than 180 professional players in his network. He offered them more money then the players could earn by playing and winning. Examples of match fixing were asking to loose the first 2 service games, making double faults, anything where people could bet on. This all happened as gambling on tennis skyrocketed into a $50 billion industry states Kevin Sieff in his report for The Washington Post. Within a Now, seven players from the country - Arnaud Graisse, Arthur de Greef, Julien Dubail, Romain Barbosa, Maxime Authom, Omar Salman, and Alec Witmeur - have also been convicted and sanctions have been agreed with the ITIA.

Each player has received a fine and some degree of a suspension, during which time they are not permitted to play in, coach at, or attend any tennis tournament sanctioned by the ITIA. This includes all ATP, WTA, and ITF events, as well as Grand Slams.

A statement from the ITIA reveals the extent of each player's fine and suspension, with the longest one lasting until 2028. Three players (Witmeur, Barbosa, and de Greef), have been provisionally suspended since May 2021, which was when they were formally charged. Therefore, their time served since then will be credited against their current suspension.

As a result, Witmeur's suspension will end on December 26, 2023 and he will have to pay a fine of $21,000 , while de Greef and Barbosa will be ineligible until February 26, 2025 and have been fined $31,500. The suspensions for the remaining four players will take effect from their agreed date of sanction, with Salman's being the first to end on 8 May, 2026.

Authom and Salman will both have to pay $30,000 with $21,000 suspended, with the former's suspension ending on 27 July, 2027. Meanwhile, Dubail will be fined $45,000 with $31,500 suspended and will be eligible to attend tournaments again on 3 July, 2027. Finally, Graisse will be fined $60,000 with $42,000 suspended, with his suspension lasting until 1 August, 2028.

The ITIA added that this concludes their proceedings against Belgian players in relation to the match fixing syndicate, although cases involving players from outside the country are still ongoing. Moreover, this is still an indication of an ongoing problem in the sport. Argentine player Marco Trungelliti recently spoke of how he had to leave his home country after reporting match fixing and revealed that it was still a big problem on the Challenger Tour.