Serbian Tennis Player Milicevic Banned Until 2050 for Match-Fixing — SkimNews
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- Stefan Milicevic, a 29-year-old Serbian player who reached a career-high ranking of 1,338th in 2014, received a 24-year ban for match-fixing — one of the stiffest penalties outside of a lifetime suspension.
- The International Tennis Integrity Authority charged Milicevic with fixing six matches (five in which he competed) and attempting to fix six more between 2022 and 2024.
- Milicevic was also charged with recruiting or attempting to recruit multiple professional players as part of a corrupt network; players he recruited have separately been accused of fixing matches.
- The ITIA said Milicevic "did not engage" with the investigation despite seven separate attempts to contact him, a factor cited in the severity of his sanction.
- Alongside the ban, Milicevic was fined £53,000 and barred from playing, coaching at, or attending any event organized by the WTA, ATP, Grand Slams, or national associations.
- The case follows a December ruling in which French player Quentin Folliot was banned for 20 years after the ITIA identified him as a central figure in a separate match-fixing syndicate.
- Milicevic will be 53 years old when his suspension ends in October 2050, effectively ending his professional career.
Why it matters: The ITIA's 24-year ban signals an aggressive posture against lower-tier match-fixing networks: Milicevic's career-high ranking was only 1,338th, showing investigators are pursuing corruption at every level of the professional ladder, not just among marquee players. The lifetime-equivalent sanction, combined with the parallel Folliot case, suggests organized syndicates are actively recruiting within the lower professional ranks.
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