The tennis world has once again been rocked by corruption-related sanctions. On January 20, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed multiple provisional suspensions under the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP), reinforcing its continued crackdown on malpractice across the sport. Just weeks after announcing provisional suspensions for five individuals, the ITIA has now handed out fresh punishments, this time involving lengthy bans and heavy fines for two more players found guilty of serious corruption breaches.

Two tennis players, Gustavo Tedesco of Brazil and Gyulnara Nazarova of Russia, have been banned for a combined period of more than six years. The sanctions were officially confirmed by the ITIA on Wednesday, following investigations into violations that occurred in previous seasons.

Tedesco, just 21 years old, admitted to six breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme committed in 2022. Formerly ranked No. 423 by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the Brazilian was found to have deliberately contrived the outcomes of three World Tennis Tour matches over a three-month span. In addition, he facilitated wagering related to those matches.

As a result, Tedesco has been suspended for two years and three months and fined £10,955 ($14,926), with £7,668 ($10,447) of that amount suspended. He declined to appeal the decision, meaning his ban will remain in force until 2028.

Nazarova, meanwhile, received an even harsher penalty. The 27-year-old Russian, who has not competed since 2020, was found guilty of making corrupt approaches to another player back in 2019. She has been suspended for four years and fined £7,307 ($9,956), with no portion of the fine suspended. Having failed to respond to charges issued in December, her suspension came into effect in January and will run until 2030.

Nazarova, meanwhile, received an even harsher penalty. The 27-year-old Russian, who has not competed since 2020, was found guilty of making corrupt approaches to another player back in 2019. She has been suspended for four years and fined £7,307, with no portion of the fine suspended. Having failed to respond to charges issued in December, her suspension came into effect in January and will run until 2030.

Last December, the ITIA carried out one of its most aggressive crackdowns yet, targeting corruption not just at the elite level but also in the sport’s most vulnerable lower tiers. The message is clear: tennis authorities are intent on rooting out corruption wherever it exists – and the net is only getting tighter. Let’s take a closer look at the suspensions that took place in December 2025.

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Tennis players who got sanctioned in December 2025

For most young tennis players, the early twenties are meant to be a quiet grind – long hours on practice courts, modest tournaments, and the hope that one breakthrough can change everything. For Maikel Villalona, that journey came to a sudden and sobering halt in December 2025.

On December 23, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed that the 21-year-old from the Dominican Republic had been sanctioned under the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP). Villalona received a suspension of four years and six months, along with a $10,000 fine – effectively sidelining him from professional tennis until well into the next decade.

The case dates back to October 15, when Villalona was formally charged with five separate breaches of the TACP. Four of those charges stemmed from a single ITF World Tennis Tour doubles match played in 2022, which investigators flagged for serious integrity concerns. Two of the violations were related to contriving the outcome of that match, a direct assault on the sport’s core principles.

Villalona was also accused of receiving money connected to the corrupt activity and failing to report a corrupt approach – an obligation that applies to all players, regardless of ranking or profile. Matters worsened when the ITIA charged him under the 2025 version of the TACP for failing to cooperate with an ongoing investigation.

According to the agency, the unranked player ignored five separate interview requests made in early 2025. That silence proved costly. Under the TACP, a failure to respond to charges is treated as an admission of liability. By not engaging with the process, Villalona effectively accepted responsibility for all five breaches. His suspension officially came into effect on October 30, 2025, and he chose not to appeal the decision within the allotted ten-business-day window.

Villalona’s case was not an isolated one. December 2025 turned into a grim month for tennis integrity, with multiple high-profile sanctions reinforcing how widespread the issue of match-fixing remains. On December 11, the ITIA confirmed that French tennis player Quentin Folliot, 26, had been handed a staggering 20-year ban. Investigators described Folliot as a “central figure” in a broader match-fixing network, making his punishment one of the harshest in recent tennis history. He was also fined heavily, effectively ending his professional career.

Just days later, Chinese tennis player Pang Renlong was sanctioned with a 12-year ban and fined $110,000. The ITIA found that Pang had been involved in fixing 22 matches over a five-month period—an extraordinary volume that underscored the scale of corruption operating beneath the sport’s surface.

Amid the wave of sanctions, another troubling incident highlighted a different – but related – dark side of tennis. Spanish player Nikolás Sánchez Izquierdo was recently targeted with threats from gamblers ahead of his match against Argentina’s Valerio Aboian in Rosario.

The situation escalated to the point where the match was delayed by nearly two hours and ultimately played behind closed doors due to security concerns. Although Aboian won the match 7-5, 6-4, the result was largely overshadowed by the alarming circumstances. Messages of solidarity quickly poured in for Sánchez Izquierdo and his team. What are your thoughts on the dark side of tennis?