Court Increases French Tennis Player's Match-Fixing Ban to Three Years

The Court of Arbitration for Sport increased French tennis player Samuel Bensoussan's ban for match-fixing to three years, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said Wednesday. Bensoussan, 34, had originally received a suspension of one year and 11 months for fixing singles and doubles matches in lower-tier events for an organized crime syndicate based in Belgium.

He appealed the initial penalty to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The ITIA asked the court to extend the ban to six and a half years, but the three CAS judges settled on three years.

The judges declined to order Bensoussan to repay 1,000 euros that investigators said he received for fixing one match in 2018. The ITIA published the CAS verdict, which stated that investigations uncovered a criminal organization that corrupted at least 181 players worldwide and involved the manipulation of at least 375 tennis matches.

A criminal case in Belgium led to a five-year prison sentence for the syndicate leader. ESPN reported the details of the ruling and the related investigation findings.