The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) today confirms that five French tennis players have been sanctioned for breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).
The sanctions are linked to a criminal case heard in 2023 involving a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium. Collaboration between the ITIA and Belgian authorities led to a five-year custodial sentence for the leader of the syndicate, Grigor Sargsyan.
Four of the cases were ruled on by an independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO), with the fifth resolved directly between the player and the ITIA.
38-year-old Yannick Thivant, who reached a career-high world singles ranking of 590 in September 2015, was issued a lifetime ban by AHO Professor Richard McLaren, who noted in the written decision that “the facts in this matter require that the most serious sanctions be imposed.”
Thivant, who admitted to fixing 22 matches between 2017 and 2018, including 16 of their own, as part of a French criminal investigation, requested a hearing before the AHO. All charges were upheld, and Thivant was fined $75,000, in addition to €37,400 in restitution. The sanction took effect on 14 February 2025, the date of the written decision.
28-year-old Thomas Brechemier, who reached a career-high world singles ranking of 399 in August 2017, was issued a seven years and six months suspension by AHO Ian Mill KC, after admitting to fixing 11 matches between 2017 and 2018. Brechemier was also fined $40,000, of which $27,500 is suspended.
The sanction took effect on 12 February 2025, the date of the written decision, and Brechemier’s suspension will end on 11 August 2032.
29-year-old Gabriel Petit, who reached a career-high world singles ranking of 450 in December 2018, was issued a six years and six months suspension by AHO Charles Hollander KC, alongside a fine of $35,000, after Petit failed to respond to the ITIA’s charges.
In failing to engage with the process, which included formal serving of documents at their registered address, Petit effectively waived their right to a hearing and accepted liability for fixing seven matches between 2017 and 2018. The sanction took effect on 21 March 2025, the date of the written decision, and Petit’s suspension will end on 20 September 2031.
29-year-old Thomas Setodji, who reached a career-high world singles ranking of 794 in July 2024, has been suspended for 10 years and fined $20,000, in addition to €5,500 restitution, after being found liable for fixing three matches in 2017 and failing to report a corrupt approach in 2018. The sanction took effect on 1 April 2025, the date of the written decision, and the player’s suspension will end on 31 March 2035.
28-year-old Hugo Daubias, who reached a career-high world singles ranking of 972 in September 2017, has been suspended for two years and fined $15,000 after admitting as part of an ITIA investigation to fixing two matches in 2017. The sanction took effect on 21 March 2025, as Daubias did not appeal the notice of charge, and the player’s suspension will end on 20 March 2027.
During their suspensions, the players are prohibited from playing in, coaching at, or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA (ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, Fédération Française de Tennis, Wimbledon and USTA) or any national association.
The ITIA is an independent body established by its tennis members to promote, encourage, enhance, and safeguard the integrity of their professional tennis events.
Click here to read the Thivant decision in full
Click here to read the Brechemier decision in full
Click here to read the Petit decision in full
Click here to read the Setodji decision in full
Ends
Published 04 April 2025 15:00
