Paris: A tennis player suspected of match-fixing last year has been arrested here during the French Open, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Friday. According to French newspaper Le Parisien, which first reported the story, the player is 765th-ranked Yana Sizikova of Russia. The prosecutor’s office confirmed to this agency that a ‘women’s international player’ was in custody, but it did not identify her.
The player was arrested Thursday night on charges of ‘sports bribery and organised fraud for acts likely to have been committed in September 2020’, the prosecutor’s office said.
An investigation was opened last October by a French police unit specialising in betting fraud and match-fixing. It has previously worked with Belgian authorities investigating suspected fixed matches at the lower levels of professional tennis.
The prosecutor’s office said the probe centered on suspicions about one match at Roland Garros last year. It did not specify the match. German newspaper ‘Die Welt’ and French sports daily ‘L’Equipe’ said at the time there were suspicious betting patterns in the first round of a women’s doubles match September 30.
On that day, Sizikova and partner Madison Brengle of the United States played on Court No. 10 against Romanian players Andreea Mitu and Patricia Maria Tig. Sizikova was broken to love serving in game five of the second set, during which she double faulted twice.
‘Le Parisien’ reported Friday that tens of thousands of euros were bet with several operators in different countries on the Romanian players winning this game.
The newspaper said that Sizikova was arrested Thursday after losing in the first round of the doubles tournament at Roland Garros. The newspaper said authorities searched Sizikova’s hotel room. It wasn’t immediately known if Sizikova has an attorney to respond on her behalf.
Last year’s French Open, delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, was played in late September and early October.
It seems that the women’s segment in the ongoing French Open tennis tournament has been jinxed. First second seed Naomi Osaka withdrew from the tournament citing mental depression. Then top see Ash Barty pulled out due to an injury Thursday while third seed Aryna Sabalenka was upset by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round. Pavlyuchenkova won 6-4, 2-6, 6-0.