Tennis star Quentin Folliot has been handed a huge 20-year ban and fined $70,000 (£52,146) after being found guilty of match-fixing, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has confirmed. The Frenchman is the sixth player to be sanctioned after an investigation into the scandal.
As well as the huge fine, he must also repay more than $44,000 (£32,777) in what have been described as “corrupt payments” understood to be linked to 27 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP). The sheer length of the ban means he will not be able to return to tennis until May 2044 and even then his return will only be accepted once he pays his outstanding fines. He had been banned provisionally since May 2024, which has been factored into the length of his ban.
To be the first to receive the latest tennis news, join our WhatsApp community or tennis newsletter
While he is suspended, he cannot play tennis, coach in the sport to others, or attend any event that is organised, sanctioned, or authorised by ITIA members (ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, Fédération Française de Tennis, Wimbledon and USTA) or any other national association. An investigation into his involvement concluded he was a “central figure in a network of players operating on behalf of a match-fixing syndicate.”
He is not the only person to be exposed by the wide-reaching probe. Five other players have been implicated, with Jaimee Floyd-Angele, Paul Valsecchi, Luc Fomba, Lucas Bouquet and Enzo Rimoli also being reprimanded.
Folliot’s highest peak in the sport was reaching a career-high ranking of No. 488 in the world in 2022. He had denied 30 charges, which concerned 11 different matches between 2022 and 2024.
The Frenchman competed in eight of those matches. The range of offences levelled at him is wide-ranging.
They included: contriving match outcomes, accepting money for not giving best efforts for betting purposes, offering bribes to other players to fix matches, providing inside information, conspiracy to corrupt, failing to cooperate with an ITIA investigation, and destroying evidence.
Independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO) Amani Khalifa upheld 27 of Folliot’s 30 charges, relating to 10 of the 11 matches. Three specific charges from a 2024 doubles match of provision of inside information, failure to report a corrupt approach and contriving the outcome were dismissed.
He was described as a “vector for a wider criminal syndicate, actively recruiting other players and attempting to embed corruption more deeply into the professional tours,” as part of her written decision on December 1.
Folliot’s obstruction of the ITIA investigation was taken into account when his sanction was determined.