Tennis: Skandal um matchfixing

Tennis has its next matchfixing scandal in which two top 50 players are involved. Aslan Karatsev and Nikoloz Basilashvili is accused of targeting games together with their coach Yahor Yatsik to generate profits through sports betting. The ZDF recently uncovered the scandal in a report. Now the accused have reacted to the allegations.

Coach Yatsik focus

The ZDF supports its broadcast reportage on the Investigation files of the ITF Tennis Associationthat has been investigating the personal details involved for some time. The focus of the competition is Yahor Yatsik. In the past, the tennis coach is said to have offered money both Karatsev and Basilashvili during their collaboration to specifically manipulate games.

Top 50 players. Karatsev (#42 of the world rankings) and Basilashvili (#26 of the world rankings) are among the best 50 tennis players on the planet and worked with Yatsik as a trainer during their career for a relatively short period of time. From 2018 to 2021, the Belarusian acted as a coach of Karatsev. Previously, he worked with Basilashvili from 2013 to 2014.

The ZDF’s report is primarily based on the investigation files of the World Association, but the broadcaster was able to win an Eastern European trainer as an insider during his research acts as anonymous source and Yatsik heavily burdened.

The Belarusian should have been involved in game manipulations and in betting fraud for years. However, he does not work on his own, but have Connections to a match fixing networkthat pulls the threads in Russia and other Eastern European countries.

According to the anonymous source, Yatsik always has a lot of money with him when he is traveling in the various tournaments and tours. The goal is to acquire new players for the network. The “prey scheme” includes young tennis professionals who financial or mental problems have to fight and be easily convinced with money.

Aslan Karatsev – five games manipulated?

As can be seen from the information from the ZDF, Karatsev is said to have been involved in a total of five games that are considered manipulated. Two of the matches fall In the term of Yatsik.

The currently last game that Karatsev is said to have manipulated found As part of the ATP tournament in Stuttgart instead of. However, the organizers had no knowledge until the end that the corresponding game from ITF with Suspected match fixing is examined. In general, the tournament management did not classify the match as unusual or distorted.

However, the Monitoring company Sportradar recently confirmed that currently All games from Karatsev analyzed in detail become, since the urgent suspicion of game manipulation and betting fraud prevails. However, the group could not go into detail because it must adhere to the existing contract modalities with the World Association and the “International Tennis Integrity Agency” (ITIA).

Fall Basilashvili. In contrast to Karatsev, it is not concrete to know how Basilashvili is involved in the match fixing scandal. The Russian media only shows that the tennis professional has come into the focus of the ITIA and that a procedure for game manipulation is running against him.

Reactions to allegations

The serious allegations against the two tennis professionals have led to violent counter -reactions in the past few days. For example, Shamil Tarpischev, President of the Russian Tennis Association, showed the Allegations against Aslan Karatsev crucial back. He titled the report and accusations of ZDF as a tabloid journalism. In his opinion, it was ridiculous to discuss the whole matter.

Meanwhile, Karatsev’s father, who was ed and asked by Russian media, also came to the crossfire. He said that his son and he were in the picture of Yatsik’s reputation, but in his opinion the entire causa not really flared up until 2020 be. At that time, Karatsev hadn’t worked with the trainer for a long time.

With an official statement, Basilashvili, meanwhile, reacted to the ZDF’s report and the associated allegations. The allegations would be baseless and would be without any basis, according to the tennis professional. He couldn’t just accept it that his name and reputation are publicly pulled into the dirt due to unfounded allegations. To get the whole situation out of the world, he has one American law firm entrusted with the matterthat should represent his interests in the matter.

Exclusion of Yatsik. Yahor Yatsik has not yet given any explanation, but the tennis coach was excluded from the Belarusian tennis association. He is therefore no longer a member and no longer acts on behalf of the association.