Tennis player Alexandros Jakupovic banned for life for breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program

Greek tennis player Alexandros Jakupovic has been banned from the sport for life for committing offenses under the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (Program).

The confirmation of the lifetime ban follows a Decision announced on 12 November this year, that Mr Jakupovic had been found guilty of five corruption Charges.

Independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer Jane Mulcahy QC considered the case at a Hearing held in London on 29 September 2015, following an investigation carried out by the Tennis Integrity Unit.

The lifetime ban takes immediate effect and means that the player, 33, is permanently ineligible to compete in or attend any tournament or event organised or sanctioned by the governing bodies of the sport.

The five Charges laid and proven against Mr Jakupovic under Section D of the 2013 and 2014 Programs include:

Charge one:Section D.1.d: No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, contrive or attempt to contrive the outcome or any other aspect of any Event

Charge two: Section D.1.e: No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, solicit or facilitate any Player to not use his or her best efforts in any Event

Charge three: Section D.1.g: No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, offer or provide any money, benefit or Consideration to any other Covered Person with the intention of negatively influencing a Player’s best efforts in any Event

Charges four and five: breaches of Section D.2.a.i: In the event any Player is approached by any person who offers or provides any type of money, benefit or Consideration to a Player to (i) influence the outcome or any other aspect of any Event, or (ii) provide Inside Information, it shall be the Player's obligation to report such incident to the TIU as soon as possible

Consistent with the confidentiality of the Anti-Corruption Hearing process, no further details of the Hearing or Decision will be made public.

The Tennis Integrity Unit is an initiative of the Grand Slam Board, the International Tennis Federation, the ATP World Tour and the WTA, who are jointly committed to a zero tolerance approach to corruption in tennis.