The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) have confirmed that three tennis players have been suspended and fined for breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program. The organisation, which safeguards the integrity of professional tennis worldwide, released a statement announcing its punishments.
Anapat Timangkul, Alexandra Iordache and Wang Chukang have all been suspended and fined, with the biggest sanction coming for Timangkul who was given a 45-month ban from competing, coaching or attending any tennis event authorised by the ITIA. Thai player Timangkul, who primarily competes in doubles matches, admitted to contriving the outcome of five matches between September 2023 and February 2024.
He has been suspended for three years and nine months, backdated to October 8, 2024, when he was provisionally suspended. The ban ends on July 7, 2028. Timangkul has also been fined £22,600, of which £15,820 is suspended.
Romanian player Iordache, who was a previous world No. 756, “admitted to contriving the outcome of one match in 2023 in exchange for payment, conveying a corrupt approach to another player, and arranging the destruction of evidence.”
The 21-year-old was given a two-year suspension and fined £11,300, of which £3,700 is suspended. Her ban begins on March 11 and will end on March 10, 2027.
Chinese player Wang, who reached world No. 786 in 2020, denied charges relating to soliciting the fixing of a match in May 2022. A hearing was held remotely on January 9 which found that Wang solicited another player to fix the result of their match.
He was handed an eight-month suspension, effective from March 26 and ending on November 25, and fined £1,130.
It was concluded that Wang had sent WhatsApp messages to another player with the intention of sounding them out as to whether they would participate in an agreement to fix the result of their match.
There was no suggestion that Wang had committed any prior offence and the nature of his offending was deemed in the “between low to medium” range. The soliciting was described as “relatively inept and appears to have lacked any genuine premeditation of planning”.
Wang had abandoned the idea by the following morning and there is “no reliable evidence” that he was acting in concert with another party.
Additionally in the hearing, it was found that no harm was done by Wang’s conduct and having not engaged in the scheme further, the match proceeded without any integrity issue.
Wang showed “no genuine remorse” for his conduct and can pay his fine in a payment plan agreed with the ITIA. He is also eligible to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration of Sport.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk