Match-fixing: CAS increases French player Bensoussan's ban to three years

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has increased to three years the ban imposed on French tennis player Samuel Bensoussan for match-fixing, partially upholding an appeal by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). The decision, formalized on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, raises the initial penalty of one year and 11 months to a three-year suspension from competitive play.

Bensoussan, 34, was originally sanctioned for manipulating singles and doubles matches in lower-tier events on behalf of an organized crime syndicate based in Belgium. His career-high ATP singles ranking stood at No. 405 in June 2018. The ITIA had asked the sports court to extend the ban to six and a half years, while Bensoussan himself appealed seeking to overturn the original sanction.

The three CAS judges set the new penalty at three years but declined the prosecution's request to order Bensoussan to repay the 1,000 euros (about $1,150) that investigators said he received for fixing one of the matches in 2018.

The case forms part of a far broader investigation into the links between organized crime and result manipulation in tennis. According to the verdict published by the ITIA, the investigations uncovered a criminal organization that corrupted at least 181 players worldwide and involved the manipulation of at least 375 tennis matches. A criminal case in Belgium has already led to a five-year prison sentence for the syndicate's leader.

The affair stands as one of the widest-ranging cases of match-fixing ever revealed in professional tennis and underscores the ITIA's commitment to vigorously pursue anyone who undermines the integrity of the sport through illicit agreements on matches, even at lower levels.

Sources

• https://apnews.com/article/tennis-cas-matchfixing-bensoussan-d9d17c59f6bdca7499fe7e8ca6f06457