Five low-ranking tennis players have been found guilty of match-fixing including a Mexican who committed 92 offences, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said on Thursday.
The sanctions were linked to a Belgian criminal case that ended in Grigor Sargsyan, the leader of an international match-fixing gang, receiving a five-year prison sentence.
The ITIA press release identified Mexican Alberto Rojas-Maldonado, who reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of 992 in 2015, as playing a “pivotal role in the corruption of other players.”
Follow all the action from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 including the World Cup schedule, World Cup 2023 results, and ICC Cricket World Cup points table. Players are vying to top the World Cup 2023 Most Runs and World Cup 2023 Most Wickets charts.
Rojas-Maldonado was found guilty of 92 offences, the second most in ITIA history after Moroccan Younes Rachidi was convicted of 135 in February.
Rojas-Maldonado was banned for life and received a maximum fine of $250,000.
He, like the other convicted players, spent most of his modest career on the third-tier Futures Tour.
Guatemalan Christopher Diaz, who reached an ATP career-high ranking of 326 in 2011 and has already received a three-year suspension, was found guilty of 13 breaches and banned for life as well as fined $75,000.
Mexican Jose Antonio Rodriguez, who reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of 1367 in 2017, was found to have committed eight breaches and of acting in concert with Rojas-Maldonado for financial gain.
Rodriguez was suspended until 29 September 2035.
Mexican Antonio Ruiz-Rosales, who reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of 652 in 2008, has been suspended for 10 years and fined $30,000.
Mexican Orlando Alcantara Rangel, who reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of 1735 in 2015, has been suspended for two years and fined $10,000 for two offences.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - AFP)