A 29-year-old Serbian tennis player has been handed a 24-year ban for alleged match-fixing offenses and other breaches of tennis’ anti-corruption rules, marking one of the harshest punishments imposed in the sport outside a lifetime suspension.
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Stefan Milićević, who reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 1,338, now faces a ban that will keep him out of professional tennis until 2050 after being charged with fixing six matches, including five in which he competed.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced the sanction on Thursday, confirming that Milićević would be suspended for 24 years and fined $70,000. His ban took effect on October 9, 2026, and is scheduled to run until October 8, 2050.
The investigation also found that Milićević recruited or tried to recruit other players “as part of a corrupt network during the same period, resulting in a number of other players fixing matches,” the ITIA said.
That’s not all. The agency came forward to say that Milićević did not cooperate with the investigation in 2026, despite “seven separate ITIA attempts, through multiple channels, to raise a response from the player.”
Milićević played college tennis at the University of Minnesota before coaching at DePaul University in Chicago. He also competed in doubles on the ITF World Tennis Tour, reaching the final in Osijek, Croatia, with Marino Jakić in August 2023.
Despite his limited appearances on the professional circuit, his 24-year ban places him among the latest players to receive a lengthy suspension for match-fixing at the lower levels of the sport.
Milićević’s suspension also prevents him from coaching at or attending events organized or sanctioned by the ATP, WTA, Grand Slam tournaments, World Tennis, or any national tennis association.
The ITIA issued a Notice of Major Offense on September 24, 2026. Since Milićević did not respond to the charges, his case did not go before an anti-corruption hearing officer, and the sanction was imposed without a written hearing decision.
An ITIA spokesperson said the decision was based on the seriousness of the match-fixing offenses and Milićević’s attempts to recruit other players and added that his failure to cooperate with the investigation did not make the punishment longer.
His 24-year suspension stands out among match-fixing cases, though other players have also received bans lasting several years for similar offenses.
Other Tennis Players Who Received Long Bans for Match-Fixing
According to the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), Milićević is not the only tennis player to receive a long ban for match-fixing. French tennis player Quentin Folliot was banned for 20 years in December 2025, while Chinese tennis player Pang Renlong received a 12-year ban for multiple offenses.
Folliot, 26, was found to have committed 27 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program. The ITIA also identified him as a central figure in a network of players working with a match-fixing syndicate.
Along with the suspension, he received a $70,000 fine and was ordered to repay more than $44,000 in corrupt payments. According to the ITIA, he was the sixth player sanctioned as part of the investigation into the network.
Pang Renlong received a 12-year ban after committing 22 offenses over five months. His case adds to the list of lengthy suspensions imposed in tennis over match-fixing and related offenses.
With Milicevic, Folliot and Pang all facing long bans, their cases raise questions about how match-fixing will be addressed in tennis and whether further investigations could lead to more players facing similar punishment.