Over the last few years, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has handed out a series of suspensions to players found guilty of corruption and match-fixing offenses. This year alone, more than five players have been banned for their involvement in such activities. However, the issue has come under renewed focus following the ITIA’s latest investigation, which has further highlighted the sport’s ongoing battle against integrity violations.
According to a report by The Athletic, a top tennis player has been investigated by the ITIA over suspicions of fixing a match in 2024. The player in question had apparently lost to an opponent ranked over 50 places below him in straight-sets. The match had taken place in a “prestigious” tournament, hinting that it may be an event present on the ATP tour.
With betting patterns surprisingly backing a straight-set win for the lower-ranked player, the ITIA has marked the match as suspicious. The organization is yet to make the details of this case public and thus, didn’t share the name of the player involved in the 2024 tie. However, it has been reported that he is ranked very high and is currently among the best in the business.
It’s not unfair to say that if a high-profile player were ever found guilty of match-fixing, the damage to tennis’s integrity could be severe and long-lasting. It also highlights how vulnerable the sport remains to such threats, keeping pressure on bodies like the ITIA to stay ahead of the issue and strengthen enforcement.
“Football is the most high-profile, but tennis is where it is most endemic,” an integrity expert had told The Athletic.
Exclusive: The ITIA investigated one of tennis’ top stars over suspicious betting patterns in a match during the past two years.
It shows the sport’s reality – and why tennis is uniquely vulnerable to fixing.
Part six of @TheAthletic’s fixing series ⬇️https://t.co/t0PvbSju5y
— Jacob Whitehead (@jwhitey98) June 4, 2026
Match-fixing cases generally involve lower-ranked players, who are ranked outside the top 400. Unlike top players, these players are barely able to afford coaching.
According to the Lewis Report, a study commissioned in 2018 by the sport’s stakeholders, only the top 250 female players and top 350 male players earned enough to break even with their coaching costs. This number is significantly low considering that more than 15,000 players are estimated to enter professional tournaments every year. Majority of these players end up becoming easy targets for fixers.
Even the scoring system in tennis has, at times, been cited as a factor that can be exploited in match-fixing scenarios, with suggestions that players could be influenced to drop specific sets or even individual games while still going on to win the match overall.
Notably, the latest ITIA investigation is not an isolated case either. Several players have already been sanctioned or handed bans in 2026 alone, underlining that match-fixing concerns continue to surface repeatedly despite ongoing efforts to curb the issue.
Match-fixing continues to grip the tennis world in 2026
Earlier in February, the ITIA had handed a two-month ban to Argentina’s Hernán Casanova for violating the illegal betting and integrity rules. He was also fined $2,000 and was also handed a $1,500 fine on the condition that he does not commit the offense again. Casanova admitted that he had placed bets on tennis matches between 2023 and 2025.
He is not the only Argentine player to face sanctions this year, as Leonardo Aboian was also handed a six-year and nine-month ban for match-fixing, coming just days after Casanova’s suspension. He admitted to 30 breaches of the anti-corruption program and was handed a fine of $40,000, with $25,000 of that amount suspended.
Then Russia’s Alana Tuayeva was handed a suspension of three years and nine months in March. She had fixed two of her own matches at the ITF World Tennis Tour in 2023 and 2024. She was also fined with $9,000 for the offense and a $21,000 fine on the condition that she does not commit another offense.
If this wasn’t all, then the ITIA had also suspended WTA player Mila Masic for four years and ten months in April for fixing four of her own matches. She pleaded guilty to all the charges and didn’t appeal for a hearing. Another player who received sanctions was Jana Vanik. The German was suspended for a year and four months for not cooperating with the ITIA’s investigation after being accused of match-fixing.
Finally, Kazakh official Assylbek Kassym was also suspended for a year and fined with $10,000 under the charges of non-cooperation with the investigation. The ITIA alleged that he approached players for corruption. His sanction will end on March 18, 2027.
As match-fixing continues to be a major problem in tennis, it really begs the question if the ITIA will ever be able to end it for good.
