Ukrainian tennis player handed lifetime ban for match fixing

Former world No. 440 Stanislav Poplavskyy has been handed a lifetime ban because of match fixing and courtsiding activities, the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) announced on Friday.

Poplavskyy, 29, hasn't played in more than two years as his last appearance came at a Futures event in 2018 November, when he teamed up with Estonian Kristjan Tamm for a doubles.

The Ukrainian's last appearance in singles came at a Futures event in 2018 August, when he was forced to retire his first round match.

"Ukrainian tennis player Stanislav Poplavskyy has been issued with a lifetime ban from the sport after an investigation by the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) found that he had partaken in match fixing and courtsiding activities on multiple occasions between 2015 and 2019," the TIU's statement read.

"Mr Poplavskyy who had a highest ATP ranking of 440, was also charged with and found guilty of facilitating courtsiding and a failure to report multiple approaches asking him to contrive matches. Courtsiding is a prohibited practice which involves transmission of live scoring data from a match to a third party for betting purposes."

Poplavskyy also received a hefty fine 

Poplavskyy, who achieved his singles career-high ranking in 2012, was also handed a $10.000 fine for his illegal activities.

"Mr Poplavskyy accepted all charges and Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer Richard McLaren issued a lifetime ban and a fine of $10,000 meaning that as from 1 December 2020, the player is permanently prohibited from playing in or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the governing bodies of tennis," the TIU's statement read.

Poplavskyy, who achieved a career-high doubles ranking of No. 803 in the world in 2012, earned a total of $40,379 in prize money over the course of his career.

Poplavskyy finished his career without a title won on the ATP level.

Poplavskyy wasn't the only player banned this week because of match fixing as Spain's Enrique Lopez Perez was also handed a notable suspension and fine. 

Lopez Perez, a former world No. 154, was banned for eight years and he also received a $25.000 fine for his illegal activities.

"Spanish tennis player, Enrique López Pérez has been banned for eight years after an investigation by the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) found that he had partaken in three separate instances of match fixing activity in 2017. Additionally, he has been fined $25,000 (US)," the TIU said in a statement released earlier this week.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/39LaZc5