Tunisian tennis star Anis Ghorbel was handed a three-year suspension from any sporting activity after he was proven guilty in a match-fixing scandal on Friday.
Ghorbel, who achieved his career-high ranking of 479 in 2016, was found guilty of breaching four anti-corruption regulations and was handed a whopping $20,000 fine by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
“The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) can today confirm that Tunisian tennis player Anis Ghorbel has been suspended from the sport for a period of three years, and fined $20,000, for four breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP),” the ITIA said in a presser.
“The sanction is linked to a recently concluded criminal case involving a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium. Collaboration between the ITIA and Belgian authorities led to a five-year custodial sentence for the leader of the syndicate, Grigor Sargsyan,” the statement added.
The 34-year-old denied all the charges against him during a hearing in December 2023 but was deemed responsible for failing to report corrupt approaches, enabling betting on the outcome of a match, and conspiring to manipulate the outcome or aspect of a match.
The three-year ban imposed on the tennis star will end on January 3, 2027.
Ghorbel never won or participated in a Grand Slam but he managed to clinch 1 ITF singles and 26 doubles titles.