Sizikova was arrested shortly after losing her first-round doubles match at Roland Garros.
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Russian tennis player Yana Sizikova has been arrested having been accused of indulging in match-fixing in the previous edition of the French Open. The 26-year-old doubles specialist was detained on Thursday. She was participating in the ongoing edition and is currently in custody in Paris. At the same time, there is no comment or remark as of yet from the tennis star, which will be keenly awaited.
Sizikova is ranked 101st in doubles. She is further ranked 765th in singles. The investigation into match-fixing as alleged was launched in October. Suspicions of “organised fraud” and “sports corruption” were raised. This information is according to a report by the BBC, with a source close to the investigation confirming that numerous players including Sizikova are being investigated.
The same was announced shortly after the Russian and American player Madison Brengle lost to the Romanians Andreea Mitu and Patricia Maria Tigin in the tournament’s opening round. Suspicions were reportedly raised after betting companies noticed hundreds of thousands of euros had been wagered on a break of serve in the second set.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek, the No.8 seed, occupies the last spot in the first half of the French Open draw. But what is surprising is her Polish compatriot, Magda Linette, who is perched atop the draw after the retirement of World No.1 Ashleigh Barty.
When reached for comment by the RIA news agency, Russian Tennis Federation president Shamil Tarpischev said, “We have not received any documents (regarding the case), so it’s difficult to make an assessment of what has happened.”
However, Tarpischev had a detailed response in store for TASS, terming it as a “long-standing story”.
“This is a long-standing story. There is an organization that is investigating fixed-term matches, this story has been going on since October. Until the documents on it are released, we cannot do anything, we are waiting,” he said in an interaction with TASS.
It will be interesting to see how such a grave scenario is handed. Match-fixing is an area of concern for fans all over the world, and a strict move would certainly be heartening.
