Five tennis players with ties to Belgian match-fixing network suspended

LONDON – Five more tennis players linked to a match-fixing network in Belgium have been suspended, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said on Thursday.

The charges relate to matches from 2017 and 2018 and “relate to influencing the outcome of matches, facilitating bets, accepting money in exchange for not making best efforts and failing to report corrupt practices,” the ITIA said in a statement.

The five join at least 15 other players banned over their links to the syndicate led by Grigor Sargsyan, who was previously jailed for five years.

According to the ITIA, all five players have admitted to breaking the rules and accepted their suspension.

Ecuador’s Iván Endara was banned for five years and fined $15,000. Of the five, Endara, 36, held the highest singles world ranking of 367 in July 2015.

Two Mexican players, 29-year-old Mauricio Reséndiz Domínguez and 35-year-old Raúl Isaías Rosas-Zarur, were also both given five-year suspensions and $15,000 fines.

Another pair of Mexicans received shorter suspensions: 30-year-old Ivar Aramburu Contreras was given a two-year, two-month suspension; and 32-year-old Aitor Aramburu Contreras was given a one-year, ten-month suspension.