Mexican tennis player banned for three years

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has today confirmed that Mexican tennis player and now coach, Mauricio Astorga has been banned for three years. The player was found to have breached multiple rules of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).

The case was ruled on by independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer Janie Soublière and the sanction means that Astorga is prohibited from playing in or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by any international tennis governing body or national association for three years. In addition to the ban, the player has been fined $1,500 USD.

Ms Soublière found that the player was guilty of receiving money to fix an element of a match in 2015, failed to report a corrupt approach and did not co-operate with the investigation. The player chose not to contest the charges and therefore the sanction was handed down without a hearing.

Astorga, who had a career highest ITF singles ranking of 687 was found to have breached the following TACP rules:

Section D.1.d of the 2015 TACP: No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, contrive or attempt to contrive the outcome or any other aspect of any Event.

Section D.1.f of the 2016 TACP: No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, solicit or accept any money, benefit or Consideration with the intention of negatively influencing a Player's best efforts in any Event.

Section D.2.a.i of the 2015 TACP: In the event any Player is approached by any person who offers or provides any type of money, benefit or Consideration to a Player to (i) influence the outcome or any other aspect of any Event, or (ii) provide Inside Information, it shall be the Player's obligation to report such incident to the TIU [now ITIA] as soon as possible.

Section F.2.b of the 2021 TACP: All Covered Persons must cooperate fully with investigations conducted by the ITIA including giving evidence at hearings, if requested. Even in the case where a Covered Person is represented by a legal counsel, the Covered Person is still personally responsible for ensuring that they cooperate fully with the investigation. The Covered Person shall be deemed not to have cooperated if the Covered Person’s legal counsel interferes with an ITIA investigation. A Covered Person’s failure to comply with any Demand, preserve evidence related to any Corruption Offense or otherwise cooperate fully with investigations conducted by the ITIA, may result in an adverse factual inference against the Covered Person in any matter referred to an AHO.

The player’s suspension began on the date of his provision suspension 8 October 2021 and will finish on 7 October 2024. He has 20 business days from the date of the decision to lodge any appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The ITIA is an independent body established by the International Governing Bodies of Tennis to promote, encourage, enhance and safeguard the integrity of professional tennis worldwide.