Paris — A tennis player was arrested during the French Open on suspicion of match-fixing last year, the Paris prosecutor announced on Friday.
According to the French newspaper Le Parisien, who first reported the story, the player is Russia’s Yana Sizikova, who is ranked 765th in the world. The prosecution confirmed to the Associated Press that a “female international player” had been detained, but did not reveal her identity.
According to the prosecution, the player was arrested Thursday night for “sports bribery and organized fraud for likely acts in September 2020.”
In October last year, a French police force specializing in gambling fraud and match-fixing began an investigation. Previously, he worked with Belgian authorities to investigate suspicious matches at the lower levels of professional tennis.
The French Tennis Federation said no further information could be provided as the investigation is underway.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency, which investigates sports match-fixing, declined to comment on the details of the case, but in a message to AP, “There is ongoing contact between ITIA and French law enforcement agencies. It’s done. “
According to the prosecution, the investigation focused on allegations about a match at Roland Garros last year. No match was specified. German newspaper Die Welt and French sports newspaper L’Équipe reported that there was a suspicious betting pattern in the first round of the women’s doubles on September 30th.
On this day, Madison Brengle of the United States, who is a partner of Sijikova, faced Romanian Andrea Mitu and Patricia Maria Tig on the 10th court. Shijikowa fell in love with Saab in the fifth game of the second set and committed two double faults.
Le Parisien reported on Friday that tens of thousands of euros (dollars) have bet on several operators and Romanian players from different countries to win the game.
According to the newspaper, Sijikova was arrested Thursday after losing in the first round of the doubles tournament at Roland Garros. Authorities searched for a hotel room in Shijikoba, the newspaper said.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Shijikoba had a lawyer.
Last year’s French Open was postponed due to a coronavirus pandemic, but was held in late September and early October.
Samuel Petrekin