Spanish tennis player receives 15-year ban due to match-fixing

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Professional athlete Aaron Cortes of Spain has been banned from the sport of lawn tennis for 15 years due to a series of match fixing incidents confirmed last April 10, 2024.

According to the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), Cortes engaged in game-fixing acts for money including betting on games and handing out money to tournament officials.

The ITIA added that in some cases, Cortes used to give other tournament staff monetary favor in exchange for a wildcard slot.

Due to the consequences of his actions, Cortes was penalized with a $75k fine (4.2 million pesos) and admitted to 35 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program from 2016-2018.

Cortes never cracked the ATP top 500 men’s ranking and had a career-best of world no. 955 way back in 2017.

During his heyday and active professional stretch in the ATP and the International Tennis Federation (ITF), Cortes earned a total prize pool of $21,854.

Aside from his ban from playing professional tennis, the ITIA also ordered his suspension from attending any events sanctioned by the ATP.

Cortes will also be prohibited from coaching any player affiliated with the ATP, ITF, and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

As of now, the ITIA revealed that Cortes is already cooperating with them and accepted their further investigation into the matter.