French Tennis Player Samuel Bensoussan's Match-Fixing Ban Increased to Three Years

LONDON -- French tennis player Samuel Bensoussan had his ban from the sport for match-fixing increased to three years on appeal, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said on Wednesday. Bensoussan, 34, had originally been banned for 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 sports court to increase the ban to 6½ years. The three CAS judges instead set the suspension at three years. 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. The CAS panel declined to order Bensoussan to repay 1,000 euros that tennis investigators claimed he received for fixing one of the matches in 2018.