The Russian ace’s admittance to her wrongdoing follows several similar cases of corruption that have plagued the sport, with three other players having been handed suspensions totalling 37 years in recent years. Express Sport takes a look at the prior breaches committed by players who were given the harshest of punishments for their role in plunging the sport into disrepute.
Quentin Folliot
French tennis player Quentin Folliot was slapped with a 20-year suspension and a £52,000 fine for match-fixing. The punishment from the ITIA was revealed in December 2024 who also said that the 26-year-old has been ordered to repay “corrupt payments” that total more than £32,000 ($44,000) due to “committing 27 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).”
The ITIA also announced that during Folliot’s ban, he is banned from “playing in, coaching at, or attending any tennis event authorized or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA (…) or any national association.” The agency said their investigation uncovered that the Frenchman – who denied 30 charges regarding 11 tennis matches between 2022 and 2024 with Folliot playing in eight of them – was “a central figure in a network of players operating on behalf of a match-fixing syndicate.”
The ITIA added: “Charges included contriving the outcome of matches, receiving money to not give best efforts for betting purposes, offering money to other players to fix matches, provision of inside information, conspiracy to corrupt, failure to cooperate with an ITIA investigation, and destruction of evidence.” Despite his denial, Independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO) Amani Khalifa upheld 27 of the 30 charges, relating to 10 of the 11 matches.
Pang Renlong
Chinese tennis player Pang Renlong was handed a 12-year ban from the sport and a fine of £81,000 ($110,000) due to his role in a match-fixing spree that involved 22 matches across a five-month period. According to the ITIA, Pang, 25, admitted in 2024 that he fixed five of his own matches in lower-level events. He also admitted to making “corrupt approaches” to fellow players in 11 more matches, six of which were also subject to fixing.
The offences are said to have taken place from May to September as Pang played in ITF tournaments in Turkey, Hong Kong and mainland China during that time period. While the ITIA didn’t list the matches Pang admitted to fixing, he has been banned from playing in, coaching at or attending any event that has been organised by major tennis organisations or national federations. With his suspension due to remain until 2036, £52,000 of his £81,000 fine was suspended.
Eduardo Agustín Torre
Argentine player Eduardo Agustin Torre was hit with a five-year ban from tennis for his link to a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium. Found guilty of corruption in 2024, the ITIA sanctioned Torre for offences from 2017 that was connected to the criminal case of syndiate leader, Grigor Sargsyan, who was handed a five-year custodial sentence in 2023.
The tennis player failed to respond to the ITIA’s charges of 35 breaches that included the facilitation of wagering, affecting the outcome of matches and soliciting money or benefit to negatively influence a player’s best efforts. He was also charged with a failure to report corrupt approaches and failure to report corruption offences. Also fined £26,000 ($35,000), the ITIA added: “Torre effectively admitted liability for all charges and acceded to sanctions.”