A player from Serbia has been given a 24-year suspension from tennis – one of the most severe punishments imposed by anti-corruption investigators outside of a lifetime ban – for match-fixing.
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.
Along with the match-fixing, 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 who were recruited by Milicevic have also been accused by the ITIA of fixing matches.
The severity of Milicevic’s sanction is partly down to a lack of co-operation in the investigation.
The ITIA said he “did not engage” in the process despite seven separate attempts from the independent organisation 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 years old.
While suspended, he is not allowed to play in, coach at, or attend any events organised or sanctioned by World Tennis, WTA, ATP, the Grand Slams, or any national association.
In December, French player Quentin Folliot was banned for 20 years, external after the ITIA discovered he was a central figure in a network of players operating on behalf of a match-fixing syndicate.
Foillot, who reached a career-high of 488 in the rankings in 2022, denied charges relating to 11 matches which took place between 2022 and 2024, including eight which he played in.
However, at a hearing, some 27 of the 30 charges against him, relating to 10 of the 11 matches, were upheld.