Tennis players who are sanctioned by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) are mostly in violation of anti-doping or anti-corruption regulations, but not French player Maxence Broville.
Broville, a 25-year-old journeyman from France, attained a career-high ranking of World No. 708 in 2023 and plied his trade on the ITF World Tour. He was recently suspended for a period of seven years and fined a whopping $5,000 for failing to cooperate in an investigation.
The Frenchman was brought to account for charges related to match-fixing in 2017 and 2018. Broville denied all these charges and was scheduled for a hearing in front of an independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO) by the name of Charles Hollander on January 5th, 2024.
The AHO found the player culpable of flouting at least two sections of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP), which related to non-compliance with an ITIA investigation.
This entailed his failure to provide his personal devices for inspection despite being given written instructions by investigators to do so. Having been on the ITIA radar, he was provisionally suspended on June 20th, 2023, so that an investigation could take place.
But because he did not comply with the investigators, he has been sanctioned substantially. The ITIA will backdate the start date of the suspension to the day he was provisionally suspended, meaning his seven-year ban will end on June 19th, 2030, when he'll be 31.
The ITIA is strict and vigilant when it comes to cases that directly threaten to tarnish the integrity of the sport and takes such matters very seriously. This year, there have been numerous cases related to match-fixing, with some players serving a lifetime ban from the sport.
Cases related to doping landed WTA star Simona Halep in trouble too, with the Romanian former World No. 1 suspended for up to four years, although she has contested the sanction and is due to appear at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Therefore, in his time away from competition, Broville will not be allowed to play, coach, or attend any tennis tournament authorized by a member of the ITIA. These include the ATP, WTA, ITF Tour, the four bodies in charge of the Grand Slams, or any national association.
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