Dominican tennis player Maikel Villalona sanctioned for match-fixing with four and a half years

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed this Tuesday that Dominican tennis player Maikel Villalona, 21, has been sanctioned for four years and six months for several violations of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP). Villalona, who is not in the world ranking, was accused on October 15 of committing five violations of the anti-corruption code, including match-fixing, receiving money and failing to report a corrupt strategy, in relation to a doubles match of the ITF World Tennis Tour played in 2022, reports the ITIA in a statement. He was also held responsible for not cooperating with an ITIA investigation by ignoring five different requests to be interviewed in early 2025.

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By not responding to the accusations of the body in charge of pursuing inappropriate behavior related to the corruption of parties, Villalona “admitted his responsibility for all charges and accepted the sanction”, consisting of a suspension of four years and six months and a fine of $10,000 (about 8,500 euros). Villalona decided not to appeal the punishment, which came into effect on October 30 and prohibits him from playing, training, or attending any tennis event organized by ITIA members. This independent body includes the professional men’s and women’s circuits, the ATP and WTA, respectively, the International Tennis Federation and representatives of the Grand Slams, among others.