Like any sport, tennis doesn’t take cases of match fixing or passing inside information lightly. And when the sport’s watchdog senses even a slight risk of that happening, they waste no time. That is exactly what happened this week.

Just recently, the International Tennis Integrity Agency confirmed that five individuals have been provisionally suspended while facing investigation under the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program.

The suspensions include two professional tennis players: Alana Tuayeva of Russia, ranked #740 in women’s ITF, who reached a career-high singles ranking of 1282 in September 2025, and Nikol Palecek of Serbia, who achieved a career-high singles ranking of 1248 in June 2021. Tuayeva has been suspended since 19 December 2025, while Palecek’s suspension began on 24 December 2025.

Three national-level officials are also suspended: referee Marko Ristic of Serbia, suspended since 17 December 2025, and Zsolt Bagosi and Tamas Tarnai of Hungary, both suspended from 24 December 2025.

According to the ITIA, the provisional suspensions were issued under section F.3.b.i.4  because investigators believe there is a strong likelihood that serious corruption offenses may have occurred.

F.3.b.i.4 reads: ‘There is a likelihood that the Covered Person has committed a Corruption Offense which is above Category C2 of the Sanctioning Guidelines and in the absence of a Provisional Suspension, the integrity of tennis would be undermined and the harm resulting from the absence of a Provisional Suspension outweighs the Hardship of the Provisional Suspension on the Covered Person.’

So, allowing these individuals to remain active could threaten the integrity of tennis. But the agency has not yet shared specific details of the alleged offenses. Interestingly, none of the five chose to appeal their suspensions.

For now, they are not allowed to participate in any capacity as a player, coach, official, or spectator at a tennis event authorized by an ITIA member at any level while subject to a provisional suspension. This includes tournaments organized by the ATP, WTA, ITF, Grand Slams, and national federations. However, the ITIA stressed that a provisional suspension is not an indication of guilt.

At this point, formal charges may be brought as the case develops, and if so, the agency will make another statement. Sure, these are short-term limitations, but they open up a broader war on corruption that is swallowing the sport.

Heavy sanctions hit tennis stars as ITIA targets corruption worldwide

Just last month, in December 2025, French player Quentin Folliot was handed a 20 year ban and fined $70,000 by the International Tennis Integrity Agency. This all came after being found guilty of 27 breaches of the Tennis Anti‑Corruption Program. The ITIA said Folliot has also been ordered to repay “corrupt payments” totaling more than $44,000… Investigators said he was “a central figure in a network of players operating on behalf of a match-fixing syndicate.”

That crackdown also rolled across borders around the same time. Chinese player Pang Renlong was banned for 12 years and fined $110,000 for fixing or attempting to fix nearly two dozen matches in 2024. He even confessed to making corrupt approaches to other players.

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Other players, like Lucas Bouquet, David Marrero, Malek Jaziri, Li Wenfu, Zhang Jin, and Maikel Villalona, also received sentences between six weeks and more than four years. And so, the message was clear that anybody who has ever participated in corruption, at any tier will have to bear the cost.

And at the center of it all is the ITIA, a standalone organization created to ensure the integrity of professional tennis around the globe. Their motto is simple: regulations must precede the play, regardless of the level of your fame or ranking, and they will strike fast to level the playing field.