Serbian tennis player gets 24-year ban for match-fixing

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced on Friday that it has handed down a 24-year ban along with a $70,000 fine to Serbian tennis player Stefan Milićević for multiple violations of tennis’ anti-corruption regulations.

Stefan Milićević, 29, whose career-high ATP singles ranking was 1,338 in August 2014, was found guilty of fixing six matches between 2022 and 2024, five of which he directly competed in. 

In addition, it was determined that he had attempted to fix a further six matches during the same period. 

No cooperation at any stage

The ITIA further stated that Milićević had recruited or tried to recruit several other professional players into a corrupt network responsible for match-fixing by an unspecified number of those individuals.

Following an extensive investigation that took place throughout 2026, in which ITIA officials made seven separate attempts to contact Milićević via multiple channels, the player failed to respond or cooperate at any stage. 

After concluding the inquiry, the ITIA issued a Notice of Major Offence on 24 September 2026, which Milićević again did not respond to. Consequently, the ITIA applied its deemed-sanction procedure, resulting in the imposition of the 24-year ban and a monetary penalty.

Restrictions imposed

The ban, which took effect on 9 October 2026, will remain in place until 8 October 2050 – at which point Milićević will be 53 years old.

Under the terms of the ban, Milićević is prohibited from playing, coaching, or attending any tennis events organised or sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the four Grand Slam tournaments, or any national tennis associations.

The ITIA continues its crackdown on match fixing with a ban often being the sanction of choice. 

Last year, the agency issued five bans or suspensions in one swoop over a Belgian corruption case. Yannick Thivant, Thomas Brechemier, Gabriel Petit, Thomas Setodji and Hugo Daubias were all banned or suspended, with Thivant being hit with a lifetime ban. He was also fined $75,000.