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A French tennis player has seen his ban from the sport for match-fixing extended to three years following an appeal, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed on Wednesday.
Samuel Bensoussan, 34, had initially received a ban of one year and 11 months for his involvement in fixing singles and doubles matches in lower-tier tournaments.
These illicit activities were carried out on behalf of an organised crime syndicate based in Belgium.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) increased the ban, noting that investigations had “uncovered a criminal organization that corrupted at least 181 players worldwide and involved the manipulation of at least 375 tennis matches.”
The leader of this syndicate was previously sentenced to five years in prison in a Belgian criminal case.
Bensoussan’s career high ranking was World No 405 in June 2018.
Bensoussan had appealed to Cas to overturn his original sanction, while the ITIA had sought a longer ban of six-and-a-half years.
The three Cas judges, however, declined to order Bensoussan to repay the €1,000 (£850) that tennis investigators claimed he received for fixing a match in 2018.
AP