Spanish tennis player Aaron Cortes has been hit with a 15-year ban for fixing matches.
On Tuesday the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), an independent group whose members work to “protect” the sport from corruption, announced that Cortes is suspended through March 2039 after he confessed to 35 Tennis Anti-Corruption Program infractions.
Investigators said Cortes copped to a number of violations between 2016 and 2018 including taking money in exchange for "contriving the outcome of events," failing to report corruption, betting on tennis, and paying tournament officials for a wild card. In addition to the 15-year suspension, Cortes has been slapped with a $75,000 fine. Of that amount, $56,250 is suspended, the ITIA said on Tuesday.
Officials added that Cortes, 29, was “fully” cooperative with the investigation. Cortes’ 15-year ban means he is barred from “playing in, coaching at, or attending” any ITIA-sanctioned tennis events. He’s similarly barred from any tennis events authorized by “any national association.”
In March, the ITIA hit tennis player Arslanbek Aitkulov of Kazakhstan with a provisional suspension due to an alleged violation of anti-doping policies. The organization also recently announced a fine against a Peruvian tournament director and a five-year suspension of an Italian tennis official.
