Why is tennis facing a large-scale investigation into match-fixing, and who stands to lose the most?
Why has tennis found itself at the center of an international scandal related to match-fixing? A recent investigation spanning France and several other countries uncovered an extensive network involving dozens of young athletes. The question of who and why becomes the weak link in this system is now concerning not only sports officials but the entire sporting community. The case is growing in scale, and the influence of crime on professional sports is visibly increasing, threatening fair play and the reputation of tournaments.
A growing threat to tennis
According to the Copenhagen Group, which unites wagering regulators from 45 countries, tennis is second only to football in the number of suspicious wagers. Experts point out that this is due to the structure of tournaments and the position of players. Unlike star tennis players, those ranked lower earn so little that they are forced to look for additional sources of income. The level of competition is high, and the costs of travel and equipment are constantly rising. In such conditions, tennis matches “to order” become a tempting chance for many to make quick money. It is this vulnerability that criminal groups exploit, seeking out young and not very well-known players.
How the recruitment and role distribution scheme works
An investigation conducted by the French police revealed a typical scheme for involving athletes. It often starts with a small offer: one of the accused recalled how he was first offered to lose for 500 euros. When he refused, the amount increased—first to 700, then 1,000 and even 5,000 euros. As a rule, recruitment happens through acquaintances, former players, or friends, and various participants are included in the scheme. Organizers manage the process, intermediaries are responsible for delivering money and communication, and so-called “mules” open accounts for wagers or transfers. In some cases, relatives, girlfriends, and close friends of the athletes played these roles. Under the pressure of financial difficulties, athletes often cannot withstand it and agree to such offers.
From suspicion to an international operation
The first signals of possible violations came in the fall of 2023 during a tournament in Rodez. Unusually large wagers on one of the French pairs attracted the attention of experts and police. After that, the suspicious player competed with a different partner in the next tournament, and video surveillance revealed recurring anomalies in his actions. To clarify the findings, specialists were involved in the investigation, and a financial transaction analysis was conducted. According to Stéphane Pialat, head of the wagering crime investigation department, distinguishing an ordinary mistake from a deliberate loss is extremely difficult. Experts note that even an experienced tennis player can have a bad match, so the evidence must be substantial and multi-layered.
Scale and coordination of international cooperation
The investigation quickly went beyond France. Joint actions by police and prosecutors from France, Bulgaria, Spain, and Romania made it possible to carry out a synchronized operation to detain suspects. The operation was coordinated by Eurojust, the agency responsible for international cooperation among EU law enforcement agencies. Nine people were arrested simultaneously in France, as well as a number of individuals from Bulgaria and Romania. The investigation paid special attention to two Bulgarian brothers who had previously received lifetime and ten-year bans for bribery and match manipulation from the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
Involvement of the “working class of sports”
Most participants in the scheme are young players ranked low and unable to support themselves through sports. According to the investigation, one of them ended up in a debt trap due to a loan and family obligations, another could not resist the pressure and the desire to demonstrate his success. Around the athletes, a social support network forms: friends, intermediaries, close people who accidentally found themselves at the center of the fraud. Often, such participants try to justify their actions by questioning how seriously they are violating sports ethics: if you lose a set but still win the match, does it really affect the outcome of the tournament?
Financial flows and the scale of the damage
According to the criminal case materials, from 2018 to 2024, at least 45 fixed matches were identified in Europe, America, and Africa. On just six of them, the organizers managed to earn 800,000 euros in winnings, and intermediaries and the players themselves shared hundreds of thousands of euros. Experts note that this is only the tip of the iceberg, since far from all episodes can be tracked. Such a scheme is built on numerous small wagers, which allows the network to remain invisible to most observers.
Countermeasures and system gaps
Officials involved in the investigation acknowledge the insufficiency of existing measures. Deputy Prosecutor of Marseille Jean-Yves Lourgouilloux emphasizes that “behind minor violations, there are often international corruption schemes with huge financial turnovers.” ITIA representatives note that recruiting new players through acquaintances is a common practice, and to combat this, it is necessary not only to suspend participants but also to dismantle organizations entirely. However, many judges and sports administrators lack sufficient training in anti-corruption matters, which reduces the effectiveness of the fight.
Open questions and challenges for sports
Experts agree that combating match-fixing requires new approaches and coordination between different structures—judicial, sports, and gaming. There is a risk that such schemes may eventually be used for other types of criminal activity, such as prostitution or drug trafficking. According to investigators, simply suspending caught players does not help, as the network quickly finds replacements. Representatives of the French Tennis Federation are so far refraining from commenting on new preventive measures, while supervisory authorities note that lower-level tournaments are the most vulnerable, where control is minimal but the lure of easy money is great.
Perspective: what happens next?
The investigation is ongoing, and according to experts, the sports community will have to jointly develop a response to the challenges of the times. Whether new methods and international cooperation can stop the spread of corruption remains an open question. The attention of fans and professionals to this topic should become one of the main tools in preserving the integrity of sports and trust in competition results.
The material was created with the support of twinspinca.com.
