Three tennis officials penalised for breaching anti-corruption code

Three tennis officials has served with severe punishment for breaching anti-corruption code. Tennis, as a sport was rocked by a major match-fixing scandal which involved players from the lower-third. The scandal became public in 2023.

Since then, a lot of players have been handed severe punishments by The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). In its latest effort to eradicate corruption from the sport, the ITIA has announced punishments for three match officials, named Luis Rodriguez, Antonio Sosa and Wellingthon Lopez. In its press release, ITIA reveals in detail the reason for sanctioning officials.

“Luis Rodriguez denied charges relating to six matches in the Dominican Republic between 2018 and 2020,” said the statement. “A hearing was held in December 2024, from which AHO Young upheld the charges, issuing a lifetime ban from the sport and a fine of $15,000, stating “as a chair umpire, he was in an important position of trust charged with upholding the integrity of the sport. This was not a one-off occurrence of bad judgment. Antonio Sosa denied charges relating to two matches in the Dominican Republic in 2021. A hearing was held in December 2024, from which AHO Young upheld the charges, issuing a five-year suspension and a fine of $3,000.

“Wellingthon Lopez denied charges relating to two matches in the Dominican Republic in 2019 and 2020. A hearing was held in February 2025, from which AHO Young upheld the charges, issuing a four year and six months suspension and a fine of $1,000. The suspension is backdated to 27 October 2021, when Lopez was provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Federation, and will end on 26 April 2026.”