French tennis player Samuel Bensoussan has seen his match-fixing ban significantly extended by three years, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has confirmed. The decision follows an unsuccessful appeal by Bensoussan to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which not only upheld the original charges but also agreed to increase the sanction in line with similar cases.
Bensoussan, aged 34, was initially suspended for one year and 11 months in June 2025 after an independent anti-corruption hearing officer found him guilty of fixing four matches. In addition to the playing ban, he was also fined $12,000 (approximately £8,880). The player had not competed professionally since 2019, having reached a career-high ranking of 405 in June 2018.
His appeal to CAS aimed to overturn the initial ban, but the court dismissed his case, upholding all charges brought by the ITIA. Furthermore, CAS determined that Bensoussan's sanction should be increased, aligning it with penalties issued in comparable match-fixing incidents. This extension means he will now be ineligible to participate in professional tennis until May 2028.
Bensoussan's case is part of a broader investigation into a large-scale match-fixing operation. He was linked to a criminal case in Belgium involving a syndicate manipulating tennis matches. CAS noted that these wider investigations had "uncovered a criminal organisation that corrupted at least 181 players worldwide and involved the manipulation of at least 375 tennis matches."
Last year, Bensoussan was sanctioned alongside three other players: Natthasith Kunsuwan, Jaimee Floyd Angele, and Christian Lindell. Individuals who are suspended from the sport are prohibited from playing in, coaching at, or attending any events organised or sanctioned by World Tennis, the WTA, the ATP, or any Grand Slam tournaments.