Former ATP Tour player Younes Rachidi has been banned for life from professional tennis after being found guilty of 135 counts of match-fixing.
Rachidi, of Morocco, had a limited pro career, with a career high singles ranking of 753. That was achieved in 2013, the same year his doubles ranking peaked at 473 and despite nine matches for his country in the Davis Cup, he never qualified for a Grand Slam tournament.
But having not played on the tour since 2017, his career will now end in disgrace after an investigation by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). Rachidi, 36, has set a new marker for the most charges racked up by an individual player, and as well as his permanent ban has also been fined £28,000. His ATP Tour career winnings only amounted to £39,000.
An ITIA sanction notice stated: “The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has today confirmed that Younes Rachidi, a Moroccan former tennis player, has been banned from the sport for life after being found guilty of 135 match-fixing offences. This is now the highest number of offences by one individual ever detected by the ITIA or its predecessor the Tennis Integrity Unit."
And it won't be just competing that the right handed player is barred from: "The sanction means that Rachidi, who had sported a highest ATP doubles ranking of 473, is permanently prohibited from playing in, coaching at or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the governing bodies of tennis.
“The case was ruled on by independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Office Janie Soublière who found all charges proved, the 135 breaches “egregious” and imposed a fine of $34,000 (£28,000) in addition to the life ban. Rachidi was involved in match fixing with two Algerian players recently banned by the ITIA with the cases uncovered following law enforcement investigations in conjunction with the ITIA in Belgium."
Overall, Rachidi broke five clauses of 2017 and 2018 Tennis Anti-Corruption Programmes, but multiple times. The news follows sensational developments in snooker, where 10 Chinese players have been suspended over allegations of match-fixing.
The Tennis Integrity Unit was set up in 2008 following an investigation into potential match-fixing in the sport. In 2021 the governing bodies established the International Tennis Integrity Agency, in a bid to further stamp out corruption.
Rachidi's scandal comes 13 years after the first such high profile case, when Austrian Daniel Kollerer received a lifetime ban and was fined £81,000. However, the fine was then overturned as he was not deemed to have benefited financially from any of the charges for which he was liable.
