Corruption has likely cost Ksenia Palkina her competitive career.
Former world No. 163 Palkina has been banned from tennis for 16 years, six years of which is suspended, and hit with a $100,000 (with $87,500 suspended) after admitting match-fixing offenses in 2018 and 2019. The International Tennis Integrity Agency announced the ban.
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Palkin'a suspension is backdated to the start of her provisional suspension on November 22nd, 2019 and – providing she does not further break the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program rules – she would be able to resume a career in tennis on November 21st, 2029. Given Palkina is 32 years old now, it may well mean the end of her playing days.
The sanction means Palkina is prohibited from playing in or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by any international tennis governing body or national association for the length of her ban.breaching the rules of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).
Palkina was found guilty of four offenses:
Section D.1.b of the 2018 and 2019 TACP: “No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, solicit, facilitate, or conspire to solicit or facilitate any other person to wager on the outcome or any other aspect of any Event or any other tennis competition. For the avoidance of doubt, to solicit or facilitate to wager shall include, but not be limited to: display of live tennis betting odds on a Covered Person’s website; writing articles for a tennis betting publication or website; conducting personal appearances for, or otherwise participating in any event run by, a tennis betting company or any other company or entity directly affiliated with a tennis betting company; promoting a tennis betting company to the general public through posts on social media; and appearing in commercial advertisements that encourage others to bet on tennis.”
Section of D.1.d of the 2018 and 2019 TACP: “No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, contrive, attempt to contrive, agree to contrive, or conspire to contrive the outcome, or any other aspect, of any Event.”
Section D.1.e of the 2018 and 2019 TACP: “No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, solicit, facilitate, or conspire to solicit or facilitate any Player to not use his or her best efforts in any Event.”
Section D.1.f of the 2018 and 2019 TACP: “No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, solicit, receive, agree in the future to receive, or conspire to solicit, receive or agree in the future to receive any money, benefit or Consideration on the basis of not giving their best efforts in any Event and/or negatively influencing another Player’s best efforts in any Event.” Section D.2.a.i of the 2018 and 2019 TACP: “In the event any Player is approached by any person who offers or provides any type of money, benefit or Consideration to a Player to (i) influence the outcome or any other aspect of any Event, or (ii) provide Inside Information, it shall be the Player’s obligation to report such incident to the TIU [now ITIA] as soon as possible.”
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