Match-fixing tennis player’s shocking confession: “First approached at 16, told to lose on purpose…” Ultimately faces 20-year ban

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A French professional tennis player who received a severe 20-year suspension for match-fixing charges confessed that he had been exposed to the temptations and threats of fixers since his teenage years.

According to a report by U.S. sports outlet The Athletic on the 20th (Korean time), French tennis player Quentin Folliot, 27, recently revealed his devastated state of mind following the severe sanction for match-fixing in an interview with the French daily Le Parisien, stating, “Overnight, only emptiness remained before my eyes,” and “I had known nothing but tennis all my life, so this is a declaration of both athletic and social death.”

Folliot, who once reached as high as 488th in the men’s singles world rankings, primarily competed on lower-tier tours such as the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Tour and ATP Challenger events. In harsh conditions where travel expenses such as airfare and lodging often exceeded prize money, he fell into the dark temptation.

“I was first approached when I was about 16. Then, at age 20, I participated in match-fixing for the first time,” Folliot recalled. “At the time, it felt like the only option to keep touring and continue chasing my dream.” However, that single choice quickly became a shackle. He claimed, “After answering ‘yes’ just once, I did not realize what would happen. When I tried to quit, threats followed such as ‘see what happens if you don’t lose this match,’ trapping me in an inescapable vicious cycle.”

However, the sports world’s verdict was firm. An independent panelist of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), the tennis anti-corruption body, found Folliot guilty on 27 of 30 charges related to 10 matches played between 2022 and 2024. The panel determined that Folliot not only intentionally lost five matches himself but also took a leading role as a “broker” by proposing and recruiting match-fixing, including passing tens of thousands of dollars and cryptocurrency to other French players.

His non-cooperation and attempts to conceal evidence during the investigation also increased the severity of the sanction. Citing that Folliot remotely locked his vacation Daejeon and encouraged a fellow player to destroy evidence, the panel significantly extended the initial 15-year suspension period to 20 years. Additionally, it ordered a fine of $70,000 (approximately 92 million won) and the return of illicit gains amounting to $44,624 (approximately 60 million won). Regarding the threats claimed by the player, the panel did not recognize them as mitigating circumstances, stating that he “did not immediately report to authorities in accordance with regulations.”

While Folliot admitted to fixing four matches, he protested his innocence regarding claims of recruiting other players, stating he had only passed along a broker’s contact information once. With this sanction, Folliot is barred from participating in all official tennis matches until May 2044. Folliot has currently appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and is awaiting the decision.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original