Gerard Joseph Platero Rodriguez, an unranked Spanish tennis player, has been issued a $15,000 fine and four-year ban after an investigation by the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) convicted him of courtsiding.
The player has become the first to be charged with the offence, which involves the transmission of live scoring data from a match to a third party for betting purposes.
The TIU investigation found that Rodriguez had acted as a courtsider at an ITF M15 tournament held in Pittsburgh, USA in July 2019. He was also found to have placed 75 online bets on tennis matches during June 2019, in breach of the explicit prohibition on any form of betting on tennis.
Under the terms of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP), players and coaches are prohibited from any form of engagement with tennis betting and wagering services. This includes placing bets, directly or indirectly, on the outcome or any other element of tennis matches.
During the course of the investigation and subsequent disciplinary process, the unranked player had failed to engage or provide any form of co-operation, as required by the TACP.
Six months of his four year ban are suspended on condition that no further breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) are committed.
