A player has faced severe consequences after breaching the International Tennis Integrity Agency's Anti-Corruption Program.
Fans around the world want to focus on positives like the terrific tennis being played on-court, or on stories off-court like Jannik Sinner's heartwarming practice session with a fan with cerebral palsy.
Unfortunately, stories about corruption in the sport do occasionally come up. For example, an Italian tennis player was suspended for 15 months in February for breaches of the Anti-Corruption program.
Sadly, these incidents are not just reduced to players. Just a few days ago, it was announced that an Italian tennis official had been suspended for more than five years for breaches of the same program.
That means this latest story is not wholly surprising. However, this is a particularly notable case due to the severity of the punishment that has been handed out to the player involved.
Aaron Cortes is the name of the player. He reached a career-high ranking of No. 955 in September 2017. That shows he was a long way from making a living playing the sport but that possibility is completely gone now.
Contriving the outcome of events, accepting money to contrive the outcome of events, failure to report corrupt approaches, wagering on tennis and providing money to tournament officials in exchange for a wildcard are among the 35 breaches.
These offences were committed between 2016 and 2018. He has also been fined $75,000, $56,250 of which has been suspended, preventing the Spaniard from being in an even deeper financial hole.
Cortes' period of ineligibility began on 27 March 2024 and ends at midnight on 26 March 2039, which effectively means his tennis career is now over.
Nonetheless, Cortes' may have received an even bigger sanction had he not co-operated fully with the investigation. He did do this, waiving his right to a hearing in the process.
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