Three Tennis Officials Sanctioned for Corruption Involving Match Data Manipulation
The International Tennis Integrity Agency has issued suspensions to three officials found guilty of falsifying match data to support betting activity. The penalties include a lifetime ban for one umpire and multi-year suspensions for two others following breaches that occurred between 2018 and 2021.
False Match Data at the Center of Betting Breaches
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has issued serious sanctions against three tennis officials following confirmed violations of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme. Luis Rodriguez, Antonio Sosa, and Wellingthon Lopez were all found to have manipulated official match data to enable betting-related fraud.
According to the ITIA, each official entered false information into scoring devices between 2018 and 2021, compromising the integrity of several matches played in the Dominican Republic. All three denied the charges but were found guilty following independent hearings.
Lifetime Ban for Rodriguez Following Six Manipulated Matches
Luis Rodriguez faced the most severe penalty. Found guilty of misconduct in six matches between 2018 and 2020, the official was handed a lifetime ban from the sport, along with a $15,000 fine.
Independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer Richard Young presided over the case. In his judgment, he stated: “As a chair umpire, he was in an important position of trust charged with upholding the integrity of the sport. This was not a one-off occurrence of bad judgment.”
The ban took effect on 21 January 2025.
Multi-Year Suspensions for Sosa and Lopez
Antonio Sosa was found to have manipulated data during two matches in 2021. Although he denied the charges, the tribunal upheld the findings. He received a five-year suspension and a $3,000 fine. His ban was retroactively applied from October 2022, making him eligible to return in October 2027.
Wellingthon Lopez, meanwhile, was suspended for four and a half years and fined $1,000 for his involvement in two matches in 2019 and 2020. His ban has been backdated to October 2021 and will expire in April 2026.
The decisions follow a wave of recent sanctions by the ITIA in response to corruption linked to match manipulation. Earlier this month, five players — Yannick Thivant, Thomas Brechemier, Gabriel Petit, Thomas Setodji, and Hugo Daubias — were banned or suspended for their involvement in a betting syndicate operating out of Belgium. All were linked to criminal activity led by known match-fixing figure Grigor Sargsyan.