5 tennis gamers have been suspended for match-fixing in a case tied to a Belgian syndicate

LONDON — Five low-ranked tennis gamers – 4 from Mexico and one from Guatemala – have been suspended for corruption linked to a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium, the International Tennis Integrity Agency stated Thursday.

The gamers are linked to the felony case of Grigor Sargsyan, the chief of the syndicate, the ITIA stated, and comply with bans on seven Belgian gamers that have been introduced final week.

The gamers whose punishments have been revealed Thursday embody Alberto Rojas Maldonado, a Mexican banned from tennis for all times and fined $250,000, the utmost allowed. Maldonado, ranked a career-best 992nd in 2015, dedicated 92 breaches “and played a pivotal role in the corruption of other players,” in line with the ITIA.

The others, all of whose bans additionally took impact on Sept. 30, are Christopher Díaz Figueroa, José Antonio Rodríguez Rodríguez, Antonio Ruiz Rosales and Orlando Alcántara Rangel.

Figueroa, a Guatemalan who was ranked 326th in 2011, was suspended for all times and fined $75,000. He beforehand served a ban for match-fixing that was introduced in 2018.

Rodríguez Rodríguez, a Mexican ranked 1,367th in 2017, was discovered to have acted with Maldonado for what the ITIA ruling referred to as “significant financial gain” and was barred for 12 years and fined $25,001.

Rosales, a Mexican ranked 652nd in 2008, was suspended for 10 years and fined $30,000. Rangel, a Mexican who was ranked 1,735th in 2015, was banned for 2 years and fined $10,000.

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