The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has announced that three Nigerian tennis players have been implicated in its recent enforcement action. They have been found guilty of violating the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).
Three more tennis players were issued with suspensions
The enforcement action names three players involved in a match-fixing scandal linked to a syndicate based in Belgium. The ITIA's investigation, led by Officer Amani Khalifa, has provided details on each player. One of the players is Henry Atseye, who reached a career-high ranking of 1518 in September 2015. Atseye has confessed to six violations of integrity rules between 2017 and 2018. He admitted to conspiring with Karim Hossam, another tennis player banned in 2018, to manipulate multiple matches. Atseye is now suspended from the sport until April 13, 2027, receiving a two-year-and-six-month ban and a $10,000 fine. Although Atseye cooperated with the ITIA, the other two players, Sylvester Emmanuel and Christian Paul, did not engage with the investigation. Emmanuel has been suspended for three years until November 5, 2027, as has Paul, and both players face a $10,000 fine. They are prohibited from participating in any capacity in events associated with the ITIA, including those organized by the WTA, ATP, ITF, Tennis Australia, Fédération Française de Tennis, Wimbledon, and the USTA.
Tennis has historically been susceptible to match-fixing
Tennis is one of the sports most vigilant against match-fixing. The IBIA often highlights tennis as a sport with a high number of suspicious betting activities. Recently, the ITIA released a report for the second quarter, revealing 19 match alerts potentially linked to match-fixing. One of the most significant penalties imposed by the ITIA was on Alberto Rojas Maldonado, who received a lifetime ban and a staggering $250,000 fine in 2023.
