A Spanish tennis player has been slapped with a 15-year ban after admitting to 35 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program. Among the charges, Aaron Cortes fixed matches and paid for a tournament wildcard.
Following an investigation by the International Tennis Integrity Agency and law enforcement, Cortes was fined £59,000 ($75,000), of which £44,000 ($56,250) is suspended.
The Spanish tennis player reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 955 in September 2017. He admitted to 35 corruption offences which took place between 2016 and 2018.
The ITIA said this included “contriving the outcome of events, accepting money to contrive the outcome of events, failure to report corrupt approaches, wagering on tennis, and providing money to tournament officials in exchange for a wild card.”
Cortes, 29, co-operated fully with the investigation. He accepted the agreed sanction, waiving his right to a hearing before an independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer. His suspension began on March 27, 2024 and ends at midnight on March 26, 2039.
During his suspension, Cortes is banned from playing in, coaching at, or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the ATP, WTA, ITF, Tennis Australia, the French Tennis Federation, Wimbledon, the USTA or any national association.
