Five tennis players have been found guilty of match-fixing

The low-ranking players, which includes one Mexican player who committed 92 offences, have been handed a series of punishments, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced on Friday.

The sanctions were linked to a Belgian criminal case that ended in the Grigor Sargsyan, the leader of an international match-fixing gang, receiving a five-year prison sentence.

The gang

The ITIA press release identified Mexican Alberto Rojas-Maldonado, who reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of 992 in 2015, as playing a “pivotal role in the corruption of other players.”

The Belgian syndicate has been described as the biggest match-fixing ring in tennis.

Rojas-Maldonado was found guilty of 92 offences, the second most in ITIA history after Moroccan Younes Rachidi was convicted of 135 in February.

Rojas-Maldonado was banned for life and received the maximum fine of $250,000.

He, like the other convicted players, spent most of his modest career on the third-tier Futures Tour.

Guatemalan Christopher Diaz, who reached an ATP career-high ranking of 326 in 2011 and has already received a three-year suspension, was found guilty of 13 breaches and banned for life as well as fined $75,000.

Mexican Jose Antonio Rodriguez, who reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of 1367 in 2017, was found to have committed eight breaches and of acting in concert with Rojas-Maldonado for financial gain.

Rodriguez was suspended until 29 September 2035.

Mexican Antonio Ruiz-Rosales, who reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of 652 in 2008, has been suspended for 10 years and fined $30,000.

Mexican Orlando Alcantara Rangel, who reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of 1735 in 2015, has been suspended for two years and fined $10,000 for two offences.

— with AFP