Tennis player arrested in Paris for alleged match fixing at 2020 French Open

A tennis player suspected of match fixing last year has been arrested in Paris during the French Open, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.

The prosecutor’s office confirmed a “women’s international player” was in custody, but it did not identify her.

French newspaper Le Parisien, which first reported the story, said the player was 765th-ranked Yana Sizikova of Russia.

The prosecutor’s office said the player was arrested on Thursday night (local time) on charges of “sports bribery and organised fraud for acts likely to have been committed in September 2020”.

An investigation was opened last October by a French police unit specialising in betting fraud and match fixing. It has previously worked with Belgian authorities investigating suspected fixed matches at the lower levels of professional tennis.

The prosecutor’s office said the probe centred on suspicions about one match at Roland Garros last year. It did not specify the match.

German newspaper Die Welt and French sports daily L’Equipe said at the time there were suspicious betting patterns in the first round of a women’s doubles match on September 30.

On that day, Sizikova and partner Madison Brengle of the United States played on Court Number 10 against Romanian players Andreea Mitu and Patricia Maria Tig.

Sizikova was broken to love serving in game five of the second set, during which she double faulted twice.

Le Parisien reported on Friday that tens of thousands of euros were bet with several operators in different countries on the Romanian players winning this game.

The newspaper said that Sizikova was arrested on Thursday (local time) after losing in the first round of the women’s doubles tournament at Roland Garros. 

Last year’s French Open, delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, was played in late September and early October.

AP