Match-Fixing Rattles Tennis as Umpires From Wimbledon Finalist Ons Jabeur’s Country Gets Banned

Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world. With a rise in popularity, the possibility of finding unfair practices and corruption in the sport also increases.

The governing bodies of tennis are working hard to investigate such cases and punish the culprits. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) recently banned three Tunisian umpires for match-fixing.

Three Tunisian tennis umpires banned

According to reports, ITIA banned three lower-level Tunisian umpires for match-fixing. Notably, they inputted wrong scores deliberately during matches.

The ITIA said on Friday that Majd Affi will receive a ban of 20 years. Affi was found guilty of 12 charges related to events from 2017 to 2020.

Also, Mohamed Ghassen Snene and Abderahim Gharsallah will face a seven-year ban. They were found guilty of four charges related to events held in Tunisia two years ago.

All three of them were charged for manipulating the scores which they were supposed to input into their electronic scoring devices.

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While tennis keeps growing in popularity, such incidents are definitely a blot on the sport. It not only compromises the integrity but also hampers the performance and hence the career of many young tennis players.

Tunisian star Ons Jabeur had a wonderful run at the Wimbledon Championships 2022

While the news of match-fixing has maligned the North African nation, tennis star Ons Jabeur has made her country proud through her stellar performance in Wimbledon Championships 2022. The current world number two started her campaign with a straight-set victory against Swedish player Mirjam Bjorklund. She followed it up with a straight-set win against Katarzyna Kawa and Diane Parry to make it to the round of 16.

Further, she faced a stern challenge from Elise Mertens in the first set of her round of 16 match, but won comfortably. In her next match, she dropped a set for the first time at the Wimbledon Championships 2022 in her three-set win against Marie Bouzková in the quarterfinals. Later, she defeated Tatjana Maria in the semifinals to book her slot in the final.

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Playing as the overwhelming favorite against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, Jabeur started well by winning the first set, 6-3. However, Rybakina made an astonishing comeback and took the other two sets with ease, winning the match, 3-6 6-2 6-2.