Tennis: Match-Fixing Sentence
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
A Serbian tennis player has been handed a 24-year suspension from playing in, coaching at, or attending any events organised or sanctioned by World Tennis, WTA, ATP, the Grand Slams, or any national association, for fixing six matches, including five in which he was competing.
This is one of the most severe punishments, other than a lifetime ban, imposed to date, for match-fixing!
Stefan Milicevic, who is 29 years old and played on the lower rungs of the professional ladder, was also charged with attempting to fix a further six matches between 2022 and 2024.
Additional to the match-fixing, the International Tennis Integrity Authority (ITIA) stated that he was also charged with recruiting or attempting to recruit multiple professional players "as part of a corrupt network".
These tennis players have also been accused by the ITIA of fixing matches.
The severity of Milicevic's suspension is partly due to his lack of co-operation in the investigation.
The player was also fined £53,000 (around €63,000).
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
