Aslan Karatsev and Nikoloz Basilashvili won multiple titles over the years but it seems that their careers may be shadowed by match fixing according to reports of the German ZDF.
In 2021, Aslan Karatsev enjoyed a meteoric rise when he climbed to the 14th place of the ATP Rankings and showed very solid performances. Yet, many focused on his Challenger Tour career and the fact that he appeared to be tanking some of the matches. According to the recent reports, it seems that the claims might have been truthful as the 28-years-old Russian and his colleague Nikoloz Basilashvili were both accused of match fixing.
At least twice in the past, Belarusian coach Yahor Yatsik, who oversaw and coached both, has made payments to players to rig tennis matches according to ZDF. The Tennis World Association ITF investigative materials made public to ZDF make this clear. Yatsik served as Karatsev's coach from 2018 until 2021. From 2013, Basilashvilli traveled with a Belarusian for almost 18 months.
One of the coaches who wanted to remain anonymous confirmed this to ZDF, stating:
"He has been involved in betting fraud for years, works with people involved in match fixing in Russia and Eastern Europe. He always has a lot of money with him, is on the tour and is looking for young players who have problems. Financial or mental. Which he can easily convince with money. Yatsik worked closely with both players, watched them for years. They are both incredibly talented players. But they had financial problems at the beginning and also major periods of weakness, slips in the ranking. At a critical moment in their career, he addressed them."
ZDF claims that Karatsev recently engaged in manipulation in the ATP competition in Stuttgart, in the first round of doubles. This relates to startlingly large bets against winning. Aslan Karatsev played with Jonathan Erlich against Denis Shapovalov and Rohan Bopanna. The Russian and his doubles partner lost the match 4-6, 0-6.
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