No less than 20 years of suspension. That was the punishment applied to French tennis player Quentin Folliot. The reason for the ban was for committing 27 violations of the tennis anti-corruption program. The information was released this Thursday (11), by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
According to ITIA investigations, Folliot was a central figure in a network of players operating on behalf of a match-fixing scheme. Folliot is the sixth tennis player to receive a punishment for this reason.
He is an average tennis player; Folliot’s best career ranking was 488th, according to the ATP. Throughout his career, he earned US$60,047 in prize money in singles and doubles.
In his defense, the Frenchman denied 30 charges related to 11 matches between 2022 and 2024, eight of which he played in. However, the independent anti-corruption hearing judge, Amani Khalifa, decided to uphold 27 of the charges in October.
In his ruling, Khalifa stated that Folliot was “a vector for a larger criminal group, actively recruiting other players and attempting to infiltrate corruption even deeper into the professional circuits.” The tennis player is 26 years old.
Folliot has been provisionally suspended since May 2024. In addition, he received a $70,000 fine, and the sentence includes restitution of corruption payments totaling over $44,000.
It is worth noting that the time served under the provisional suspension must be deducted from his period of inactivity in professional tennis. Therefore, Folliot’s suspension will end on May 16, 2044. The athlete still needs to pay any outstanding fines.
Education and engagement remain ITIA’s focus
ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse stated: “Education, support, and engagement remain strategic priorities for the organization.”
“We continue to work proactively with players, coaches, agents, officials and player support staff at all levels of the game; from Grand Slams to ITF World Tennis Tour 15K tournaments and, perhaps most importantly, junior events – ensuring that everyone is equipped with the essential knowledge to avoid inadvertent rule violations,” he said.
