40 tennis tournaments in corruption scandal as police arrest 14 | Tennis | Sport
A massive international crackdown has exposed a sprawling match-fixing ring in professional tennis, with police arresting 14 suspects. The scandal involves rigged matches in around 40 lower-tier tournaments worldwide, netting criminals over €800,000 (£695,000) in illicit betting profits. Authorities say the network paid players to throw sets or entire matches, deceiving bookmakers and raking in huge sums from pre-arranged bets.
The arrests unfolded simultaneously on October 20 in France, Bulgaria, Spain and Romania, coordinated by French prosecutors in Marseille with support from Eurojust, the EU’s judicial cooperation agency. In France, five young men – all French nationals aged 23 to 29 – were detained and later charged with organised fraud, sports corruption and participation in a criminal conspiracy. These individuals, suspected of acting as players or intermediaries, were released under strict judicial supervision. This includes a total ban on any contact with tennis-related activities, commercial or social.
Prosecutors allege the French suspects created fake player accounts with international betting operators, often using “mules” – third parties – to place wagers on fixed outcomes. The rigged results were agreed upon in advance with corrupted athletes, allowing the network to trick bookmakers into paying out winnings.
“More than €800,000 in winnings have been identified to date, with the acts committed by an organized gang,” the Marseille prosecutor’s office stated in a press release. Investigations revealed anomalies in betting patterns across tournaments in Europe, North America, Central America and Africa.
At the heart of the operation is a Bulgarian-led criminal network. Bulgarian authorities arrested several nationals, including four former tennis players: siblings Karen and Juri Khachatryan, along with Dilyan Yanev and Anzhel Yanev, aged 25 to 31. These men face charges of cross-border money laundering and corruption in sports competitions.
The Khachatryan brothers are no strangers to scandal – they were previously sanctioned by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). In 2020, Karen received a lifetime ban for five proven match-fixing cases and nine attempts to incite others to lose. Juri was hit with a 10-year suspension for facilitating illegal bets and approaching players to rig games.
The corruption targeted Challenger and Futures tournaments – the second and third tiers of professional tennis – held between 2018 and 2024. These events, often flying under the media radar, featured players ranked outside the ATP top 100, many struggling financially.
The network allegedly approached these athletes, offering cash to deliberately lose sets or matches. One player reportedly told investigators: “They suggested I lose a set. It was too tempting considering my problems.”
Affected tournaments spanned at least 10 countries: France, Germany, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Egypt and Tunisia. Bets were placed on specific outcomes, exploiting the lack of scrutiny in these smaller competitions.
The investigation began off in December 2023 after France’s National Gaming Authority (ANJ) and Française des Jeux flagged suspicious betting on a doubles match at a third-division tournament in Rodez, involving a French pair. This led to scrutiny of other similar events and “several other French players.”
Digital evidence seized during the raids is now being analysed, with prosecutors promising further developments in the ongoing judicial inquiry.
This scandal highlights vulnerabilities in tennis’s lower ranks, where prize money is slim and temptation runs high. The ITIA has already stepped up, issuing administrative suspensions to three French players and sanctioning a fourth for not reporting corruption attempts.
Tennis authorities and betting regulators are urging stronger safeguards, including better monitoring of low-profile events. With investigations expanding, more arrests could follow, potentially shaking the sport’s integrity further. For now, the arrests mark a significant blow to the underground betting world, but they also serve as a stark reminder: even in the shadows of the pro circuit, corruption can thrive unchecked.
