Twenty years out of the game is a long timeout, even by tennis standards.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency confirmed on Thursday that French player Quentin Folliot has been banned and fined after a probe found he was involved in widespread match fixing, a case that the agency says exposes links to an organised syndicate operating through lower‑level events.
ITIA Hands Down Harsh Sanction
“Contriving the outcome of matches, receiving money to not give best efforts for betting purposes, offering money to other players to fix matches, provision of inside information, conspiracy to corrupt, failure to co-operate with an ITIA investigation, and destruction of evidence.”
International Tennis Integrity Agency
The ITIA found Folliot guilty of 27 breaches of the Tennis Anti‑Corruption Program and imposed a ban that will keep him out of the sport until May 2044 unless outstanding penalties are fully repaid.
The written sanctions list includes a fine of $70,000 and an order to repay more than $44,000 in corrupt payments, figures the agency said were linked to match‑fixing activity across multiple events.
While suspended, Folliot is barred from competing, coaching, or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by ITIA members or national associations, a prohibition that covers ATP, WTA and the grand slam tournaments.
The ITIA described the 26‑year‑old as a “central figure in a network of players operating on behalf of a match‑fixing syndicate,” language that paints the case as more than a single lapse in judgment and more as organised corruption.
A remote hearing in October, conducted by independent Anti‑Corruption Hearing Officer Amani Khalifa, upheld 27 of the 30 charges against Folliot, finding wrongdoing in 10 of 11 contested matches played between 2022 and 2024.
In her decision, Khalifa said Folliot was “a vector for a wider criminal syndicate, actively recruiting other players and attempting to embed corruption more deeply into the professional tours,” a characterization that helped justify the severe penalty.
How The Investigation Unraveled
Folliot had already been provisionally suspended since May 2024 and that period will count toward the ban, making him eligible to return, technically, on May 16, 2044 when he would be 45 years old, according to the ITIA notice.
The Frenchman reached a career‑high ranking of No 488 in 2022 and official career earnings around $60,047, numbers that underline how corruption can touch players outside the sport’s highest pay brackets.
Folliot is the sixth individual to face sanctions as a result of this probe, the ITIA said, following cases involving Jaimee Floyd‑Angele, Paul Valsecchi, Luc Fomba, Lucas Bouquet and Enzo Rimoli, showing investigators pursued a network rather than a lone offender.
Aggravating factors influenced the length of the ban, including what the agency described as deliberate obstruction and failure to co‑operate, plus the destruction of evidence, conduct that regulators treat as particularly serious because it seeks to frustrate accountability.
What This Means For Tennis
The ITIA operates independently to protect competition integrity and it framed the Folliot case as an example of why robust policing matters, especially when syndicates try to weaponise lower‑tier matches for betting markets.
For players and coaches the message is blunt: crossing the line brings long bans, heavy fines, and a public record that can end careers, reputations and any chance of reentry into professional tennis environments.
Fans should also take note, because match fixing corrodes trust in results and the business that feeds the sport; the ITIA’s aim is to deter future approaches and make corruption harder to hide.
My Tennis Expert believes that the sentence will serve as a warning to fringe professionals tempted by quick money, and that investigators will continue chasing the syndicate links exposed in this case to protect the game’s integrity.
Join the conversation on Facebook.
Christoph Friedrich is a German tennis player and coach currently residing in Oakland, California. He began his tennis journey at the age of eight and has since dedicated his life to the sport. After working as a tennis coach and hitting partner in New York City for eight years, Christoph decided to share his knowledge and experience with tennis players around the world by creating the My Tennis Expert blog. His goal is to make tennis education accessible to everyone and help players select the best equipment for their game, from racquets and strings to shoes and overgrips. Christoph's extensive research and expertise in tennis technology make him a valuable resource for players of all levels.
