A former French tennis player, Samuel Bensoussan, has seen his match-fixing ban extended to three years. This increase followed an unsuccessful attempt to appeal his initial penalty.
Bensoussan, aged 34, was initially suspended for one year and 11 months after being found guilty of fixing four matches. His actions linked him to a larger match-fixing syndicate orchestrated in Belgium by Grigor Sargsyan. This syndicate reportedly rigged at least 375 matches and involved 1,500 conspirators, according to documents from the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
The Frenchman sought to challenge his suspension by appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Among the 18 violations of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Protocol he faced, all but one were proven. Bensoussan argued that false accusations by former tennis player Mick Lescure led to his situation. Lescure received a lifetime ban in 2022 for match fixing.
Bensoussan wasn’t alone in appealing the decision. The ITIA also appealed, arguing for a longer suspension aligned with penalties given to others. They requested an increase to six and a half years.
The CAS rejected Bensoussan’s appeal and decided to extend his suspension. The court didn’t agree to the six and a half years sought by ITIA but increased his ban to three years, starting from May 2025 and ending in May 2028.
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