The shadow of match-fixing still looms large over tennis. Take, for instance, the three players who were suspended and handed heavy fines over corruption charges just two months ago. Now, the issue has resurfaced, with three tennis figures being reprimanded.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has issued three sanctions under the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) on Tuesday, March 31. This program includes a set of rules and regulations against match-fixing and betting, and offenders are met with hefty penalties, including lifelong bans and fines. This just does not apply to players, but it even includes coaches and match officials. And in the latest enforcement from ITIA, a Serbian player, a German, and a Kazakh tennis official have been reprimanded.  

The most severe punishment has been given to WTA player Mila Masic. She reached a career high ranking of world No. 875 in December 2024 and has been competing on the tour for many years. Masic has been suspended for four years and ten months and fined $20,000 for fixing four of her own matches. She accepted that she had received payment for these fixes and pleaded guilty. 

The 28-year-old did not appeal for a hearing as she had already accepted her fault. She was already provisionally suspended from December 24, 2025, and the ban will run until October 23, 2030. 

The second player who was sanctioned is Jana Vanik. She is a 23-year-old German player with a career high ranking of world No. 1257, which she achieved in April 2024. Vanik has been suspended for one year and four months and fined $1,500 for not cooperating with the ITIA investigation.

During ITIA’s investigation of match-fixing, it was revealed that the German might have broken some of the rules of the program. After not responding to charges issued on February 27, 2026, the ban came into effect, which will last until July 20, 2027. 

The third case was that of Assylbek Kassym, who is a national-level tennis official in Kazakhstan. Kassym has been suspended for one year and fined $10,000 under the charges of non-cooperation with the investigation. The body alleged that he approached players for corruption, and the Kazakh did not engage in any communication with ITIA. His sanction entered into effect on March 19, 2026, and will end on March 18, 2027. 

During their period of suspension, all three are prohibited from playing, coaching, officiating, or attending any tennis event authorised by the ITIA. The member bodies sanctioned by ITIA are ATP, WTA, ITF, the four Grand Slams, and any tennis national association. 

ITIA has been working tirelessly to maintain the integrity of the sport by applying penalties, bringing laws against match-fixing, etc., but it’s getting harder and harder every day. 

A pattern that the ITIA is working hard to break

The three cases reflect a severe pattern that the tennis integrity body will have to fight against. The active corruption takes place at the lower levels of the sport because money is almost non-existent at that level. It is difficult for tennis players in the lower circuits to manage their expenses alongside a tennis career. The costs of training, team, nutrition, accessories, traveling, and accommodation, as well as tournament entry fees, become expensive for an upcoming player, and therefore, they seek ideas like these. 

ITIA had not spared the world’s No. 1s of their wrongdoings as well. In 2025, both Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek were out of the action for a brief moment because of failing an anti-doping test under unfortunate circumstances. The Italian had faced a three-month suspension, while the Pole was suspended for one month. In this case, Masic was handed the longest suspension, almost five years, due to the seriousness of the offences. 

Meanwhile, Vanik and Kassym were handed a suspension on the basis of non-cooperation during the due ITIA investigation. The message has been clear that engagement with any kind of sanctionable offence will be met with serious consequences to protect the integrity.  

The enforcement of TACP has really helped the sport to control corrupt activity across levels. Apart from this, the tennis governing bodies should really look into increasing the prize money at the Challenger Tours and ITF tournaments. With vulnerability affecting both the lower-ranked players and the integrity of the sport, ITIA hopes to find a solution that addresses both.