The Global Tennis Integrity Agency (GTIA) has prohibited two tennis competitors associated with a Belgian criminal organization.

Alejandro Mendoza Crespo was given the maximum punishment of a lifetime prohibition for twenty infractions. At the same time, Jorge Panta Eleros was banned for three years for four breaches.

These penalties were determined by Professor Richard McLaren, the independent anti-corruption hearing official. The rulings were made following formal hearings in early March, and the prohibitions took effect on April 4th.

Mendoza and Panta were also fined $250,000 (£199,619/€231,942) and $10,000, respectively. Both individuals will be barred from participating in any competition, coaching, or involvement in any competition recognized by GTIA members, including the ATP and WTA.

Last week, Eduardo Agustin Torre was prohibited for five years for thirty-five breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP). Torre was also fined $35,000.

The GTIA stated that the prohibitions on Mendoza and Panta are linked to a recent criminal case in Belgium, where Grigor Sargsian, the leader of a match-fixing organization, was sentenced to five years in prison.
The GTIA’s most recent sanctions follow a series of tennis bans related to the criminal organization.

Following the ruling, seven athletes were prohibited from participating for varying lengths of time in November. This occurred after they were discovered to have broken the TACP rules.

The seven athletes who were suspended were Whittemore, Grace, De Greef, Dubail, Barbosa, Osom, and Salman.

Earlier this year, there were two additional suspensions in the Belgian case. French athlete Mitjana was barred for a decade due to corruption, while Gorbel was also prohibited for three years for manipulating matches.

The suspensions of Mendoza and Panta bring the total number of athletes and officials banned in the Belgian case to 25.

The IBIA’s first-quarter integrity report emphasizes tennis-related problems.
In April, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) published its “Integrity Report” for the initial three months of this year.

The IBIA issued a total of 56 warnings in the first quarter, a 12% increase compared to the 50 notices in the same period in 2023. This number also represents a 64.7% increase from the final quarter of 2023.

There were 14 warnings related to tennis in the first quarter of this year. This is an increase from the 12 notices in the same period last year.

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