Mitjana has been found to have breached the ITIA Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP) 11 times. He is currently banned from tennis until December 2033. The Frenchman, who reached a singles ranking of 458 in 2018, denies all charges. The charges against him are related to match-fixing and occurred in 2017 and 2018. Mitjana was found guilty of facilitating wagering, manipulating match outcomes, influencing other players to perform poorly, and failing to report corrupt approaches. The ban came into effect on December 22, 2023, and prohibits Mitjana from participating in, coaching, or attending any professional tennis event until December 21, 2033. This ban extends to all events authorized or sanctioned by the ITIA or any national association.
This case is linked to a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium. Another official, a Slovenian, was banned until 2034 in November for betting on matches. The leader of the syndicate, Grigor Sargsyan, was recently convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. This successful outcome was the result of collaboration between the ITIA and Belgian authorities. Sargsyan has been operating globally since 2018, building a network of over 180 tennis players across five continents. The Washington Post has referred to him as “the man who built the biggest match-fixing ring in tennis”. In total, the ITIA has banned 21 players and officials in the past three months. The crackdown began after Sargsyan’s conviction in November, resulting in the banning of 16 players in November 2023.
