ITIA Metes Out Four-Year Ban on French Player
The tennis integrity body has acted against a new instance of fraud in the sport and banned one Sherazad Refix from competing or attending events over the next four years
The 33-year-old player hails from France and has been found in breach of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA)’s Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) rules, resulting in the suspension.
Reix’s highest ranking on record is 204 based on the WTA list, and he will now serve the penalty through January 29, 2027. He will also have to pay a $30,000 fine and avoid attending any of the events sanctioned by any governing bodies in the sport.
ITIA investigated the player in collaboration with Belgium authorities who have helped discover evidence of wrongdoing in the case. Reix has been found guilty of several match-fixing offences and breached a number of rules.
Breaking a Series of Rules Set by ITIA
The player breached rule D.1.b in two instances. The rule states that a covered person may not directly or indirectly solicit or facilitate any other person to wager on the outcome of any tennis competition.
This rule restricts players from negotiating with someone to bet on a specific outcome of an event or to offer their own insight as part of services to a tennis betting company or publication. Another two breaches were logged in relation to rule D.1.d which states that tennis insiders covered by the rules would not contrive or attempt to contrive the outcome of any aspect of any tennis event.
Two more breaches were registered for rule D.1.f which argues that a covered person cannot accept money or benefits to adjust their performance and perform in a way that is not to their best performance. Last but not least, ITIA also posted one breach of rule D.2.a.i. which states that a person who is approached and solicited to influence the outcome of an event or a game should report the incident immediately to ITIA.
ITIA has been meting out punishments a lot recently. The authority suspended a wheelchair tennis player in January and it handed down bans to a Chinese and Chilean player each in December. The regulator remains ever vigilant about offences by players, with tennis continuing to be one of the biggest originators of red flags about betting offences, as confirmed by IBIA.
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