Five tennis players suspended for link to match-fixing syndicate

LONDON — The International Tennis Integrity Agency revealed on Thursday that five low-ranked tennis players, four from Mexico and one from Guatemala, have been suspended for involvement in corruption linked to a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium.

These players are connected to the criminal case of Grigor Sargsyan, the leader of the syndicate, according to the ITIA. The bans on these players come on the heels of the announcement of suspensions for seven Belgian players just last week.

Among the players facing punishments, Alberto Rojas Maldonado of Mexico stands out, as he has been banned from tennis for life and fined $250,000, the maximum penalty allowed. Having committed 92 breaches, Maldonado, who reached a career-best ranking of 992nd in 2015, was deemed to have played a pivotal role in the corruption of other players, as per the ITIA.

The other players whose suspensions were made public on Thursday include Christopher Díaz Figueroa, José Antonio Rodríguez Rodríguez, Antonio Ruiz Rosales, and Orlando Alcántara Rangel, all of whom were banned from tennis effective September 30.

Figueroa, a Guatemalan who reached a ranking of 326th in 2011, has been suspended for life and fined $75,000. It is worth noting that he previously served a ban for match-fixing that was announced in 2018.

Rodríguez Rodríguez, a Mexican who was ranked 1,367th in 2017, was found to have acted with Maldonado for significant financial gain and has been barred for 12 years and fined $25,001, as per the ITIA ruling.

Rosales, a Mexican who reached a ranking of 652nd in 2008, has been suspended for 10 years and fined $30,000, while Rangel, a Mexican who was ranked 1,735th in 2015, has been banned for two years and fined $10,000.