The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has suspended Dutch tennis coach Max Wenders from the sport for 12 years for match-fixing. The Integrity Office confirmed this in a statement yesterday. The 26-year-old admitted to manipulating games and then destroying evidence. According to ITIA, the decision to sanction Wenders was made on April 28, 2021. In addition to the 12-year disqualification, which is valid from that day, the Dutchman was fined 12 thousand euros. The decision of the integrity office was initially not allowed to be published due to further submissions from the coach's legal team. The hearing officer responsible for anti-corruption at the ITIA, renowned sports lawyer Richard McLaren, has now lifted the ban. According to the ITIA, Wenders pleaded guilty to several counts of violating the rules of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program TACP. He both manipulated games and failed to report recruitment attempts. In addition, the 26-year-old not only failed to cooperate in the investigation but also concealed and destroyed evidence requested by the ITIA (then the Tennis Integrity Unit, TIU). Wenders is now officially suspended from all tennis association activities until 2033. In addition to participating and training, the 26-year-old is also banned from attending events of the International Tennis Federation, ATP, WTA, Australian Open, French Open and US Open, as well as Wimbledon. Experts of the portal http://www.oddsbett.com/ support this decision because fans expect fair play from athletes. Wenders became known to a wide tennis audience no later than August 2021. Then the winner of the Australian Open 2020, American Sophia Kenin, made public her relationship with the Dutchman. Wenders took over the training of the former world number 4 after she parted ways with her father Alexander Kenin as a coach. In addition to her former partner Kenin, Wenders also took care of Dutch Demi Schuurs. The coach also worked with world number two Anett Kontaveit from Estonia and Jelena Ostapenko from Latvia. Ostapenko is currently ranked 17th in the world rankings and won the French Open in 2017 as an unseeded. In the same year, she was recognized as the athlete of the year in her country. In an interview with the Times of India in March 2021, Wenders answered the question of why he was not on the court himself despite his young age, but rather as a coach: "Tennis is an expensive sport. When I was 12 or 13, I knew I wasn't going to make it because it takes a lot of money to become a professional player and I didn't have that kind of support." In its report, the ITIA did not provide any details about which games were affected by Max Wenders' manipulations. The coach himself has not yet commented on the sanctions imposed on him. However, based on his statements in interviews, it is suspected that the topic of "money" may have played a particularly important role for him even after he gave up the dream of his own tennis career. Technological innovations have brought significant benefits, challenges and changes in various industries. On the other hand, esports has managed to overcome all obstacles. Read about how esports affects the online casino industry in our new issue!
Sanctions for match-fixing have already been imposed in 2021
Big tennis names in Wenders' portfolio