A Serbian tennis player has been handed a 24-year suspension from the sport for match-fixing, one of the harshest penalties imposed by anti-corruption investigators outside of a lifetime ban. Stefan Milicevic, who reached a career-high world ranking of 1,338th in 2014, was charged with fixing six matches, including five in which he was competing. The 29-year-old, who played on the lower rungs of the professional ladder, was also charged with attempting to fix a further six matches between 2022 and 2024.
The International Tennis Integrity Authority (ITIA) said Milicevic was also charged with recruiting or attempting to recruit multiple professional players as part of a corrupt network. Players he recruited have also been accused by the ITIA of fixing matches. The severity of the sanction is partly due to a lack of co-operation: the ITIA said he "did not engage" in the process despite seven separate attempts to contact him.
Milicevic, who also received a £53,000 fine, cannot take part in the sport until his ban ends in October 2050, by which time he will be 53. While suspended, he may not play in, coach at, or attend any events organised or sanctioned by World Tennis, WTA, ATP, the Grand Slams, or any national association.
The case follows that of French player Quentin Folliot, who was banned for 20 years in December after the ITIA found he was a central figure in a network of players operating on behalf of a match-fixing syndicate. Folliot, who reached a career-high ranking of 488 in 2022, denied charges relating to 11 matches. At a hearing, however, 27 of the 30 charges against him, relating to 10 of those matches, were upheld.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing