Five tennis stars and officials suspended over corruption charges | Tennis | Sport
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has announced the banning of five people involved with the sport. The group, including two players, has been provisionally suspended due to the likelihood of a major offence having been committed.
The full consideration of Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) charges will take place before a final decision is made, with it deemed prudent to begin the suspensions immediately due to the severity of the claims and the risks posed at those involved being permitted to continue in the sport, when they could later be found guilty. None of the five individuals elected to appeal their provisional suspensions.
Russian tennis player Alana Tuayeva and Nikol Palecek of Serbia have both been hit with the suspension. Tuayeva, 26, has been banned from the sport since December 19, months on from reaching her career high singles ranking of 1282 in September 2025.
Palecek has been provisionally suspended since Christmas Eve. The 22-year-old’s career-high world singles ranking of 1248 was reached in June 2021.
They are joined by three national-level tennis officials in Marko Ristic (Serbia), Zsolt Bagosi and Tamas Tarnai (Hungary). Ristic saw his provisional suspension begin on December 17, while Bagosi and Tarnai, like Palecek, have been provisionally suspended since December 24.
During their provisional suspensions, the group are not allowed to officiate, play, coach at or attend any tennis events authorised or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA (ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, Fédération Française de Tennis, Wimbledon and USTA) or any national association.
As well as the huge fine, Folliot must also repay more than $44,000 (£32,777) in what have been described as “corrupt payments” understood to be linked to 27 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP). The Frenchman will not be able to return to tennis until May 2044, having first served a provisional ban, and even then his return will be determined once his outstanding fines are paid.
An investigation into his involvement concluded the former world number 488 was a “central figure in a network of players operating on behalf of a match-fixing syndicate”.
Five other players were implicated, with Jaimee Floyd-Angele, Paul Valsecchi, Luc Fomba, Lucas Bouquet and Enzo Rimoli also reprimanded.
