Italian tennis player suspended

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) today confirms that Italian tennis player Emanuele Bastia has been suspended for a period of four months and two weeks after admitting to wagering on tennis, in breach of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP). 
 
Bastia, who reached a career-high ITF singles ranking of 1835 in April 2024 and is unranked on the ATP Tour, admitted to placing bets on professional tennis matches (in which they played no part) between 2017 and 2023. The player has been fined $5,000, of which $2,500 is suspended. 
 
25-year-old Bastia’s period of ineligibility began on 6 May 2024 and ends at midnight on 20 September 2024.

During the period of ineligibility, Bastia is prohibited from playing in, coaching at, or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA (ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, Fédération Française de Tennis, Wimbledon and USTA) or any national association.   

The ITIA is an independent body established by its tennis members to promote, encourage, enhance, and safeguard the integrity of professional tennis worldwide.   

Two tennis players sanctioned under Tennis Anti-Corruption Program

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) can today confirm sanctions for two tennis players under the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP). 
 
The sanctions are linked to a recently concluded criminal case involving a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium. Collaboration between the ITIA and Belgian authorities led to a five-year custodial sentence for the leader of the syndicate, Grigor Sargsyan.  Five other players related to the case had previously been sanctioned after failing to respond to ITIA charges in 2023.
 
Sanctions were imposed by independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO) Professor Richard McLaren following a formal hearing held between 4-5 March 2024. The sanctions are effective from 4 April 2024. 
 
Alejandro Mendoza Crespo, a 34-year-old Bolivian who reached a career-high world singles ranking of 741 in 2016, was issued the maximum penalty by AHO McLaren for committing 20 major offenses under the TACP, resulting in a lifetime ban from the sport and a $250,000 fine. 
 
Mendoza was found by AHO McLaren to have “engaged in a continuous pattern of corruption” between 2016 and 2018, including initiating corruption offenses by encouraging other players to contrive the outcome of matches for financial gain.  
 
Jorge Panta Herreros, a 28-year-old Peruvian with a career-high world singles ranking of 447 reached in 2022, has been suspended for three years and fined $10,000, having been found liable for four major offenses under the TACP, including contriving the outcome of two of their own matches over a period of two years. Panta’s suspension will end at midnight on 3 April 2027. 
 
During their periods of ineligibility, Mendoza and Panta are prohibited from playing in, coaching at, or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA (ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, Fédération Française de Tennis, Wimbledon and USTA) or any national association.   

The ITIA is an independent body established by its tennis members to promote, encourage, enhance, and safeguard the integrity of professional tennis worldwide.    

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Austrian wheelchair tennis player fined

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) can today confirm that Austrian wheelchair tennis player Nico Langmann has accepted a sanction for breaching tennis’ betting sponsorship rules. Langmann co-operated fully with the investigation and did not contest the charge.

As an active wheelchair tennis player, Langmann is considered a “covered person”, who must comply with the sport’s rules around relationships with betting operators. The Tennis Anti-Corruption Program rules state that: “No Covered Person shall directly or indirectly, facilitate, encourage and/or promote Tennis Betting (‘Facilitation’).”

In January 2023, Langmann entered into a contract with an Austrian online gaming and betting operator to become an ambassador, a deal which included, but was not limited to, use of Langmann’s image and social media profile to promote the brand. Upon receiving contact from the ITIA, Langmann withdrew from the arrangement and made best efforts to remove promotional content already produced.

There is no suggestion of any corrupt behaviour linked to the rule violation, and the ITIA accepted that the violation was inadvertent. As such, Langmann has been issued a two-month suspended ban and fined $10,000. The suspension will not come into force unless there is a further breach of the rules during the two-month period, which began on 14 May 2024.

The ITIA is an independent body established by its tennis members to promote, encourage, enhance, and safeguard the integrity of professional tennis worldwide.