French Tennis Player Hit With Staggering Match-Fixing Ban

A French tennis player has received one of the harshest bans in the history of the sport after being found to be the central figure in a ‘match-fixing network’.

Quentin Folliot, 26, was one of the key targets of an International Tennis Integrity Association [ITIA] into match-fixing. The Paris-born player was accused of helping lead a network of players to unjustly influence matches on behalf of a betting syndicate.

Folliot ultimately became one of six players to be sanctioned over the alleged breaches, alongside Jaimee Floyd-Angele, Paul Valsecchi, Luc Fomba, Lucas Bouquet and Enzo Rimoli. Charges included “contriving the outcome of matches, receiving money to not give best efforts for betting purposes, offering money to other players to fix matches, provision of inside information, conspiracy to corrupt, failure to cooperate with an ITIA investigation, and destruction of evidence,” according to investigating unit.

Folliot was charged with 30 offences relating to 11 matches played between 2022 and 2024, eight of which he competed in. While he maintained his innocence on all counts, he was found guilty of 27 of the 30 charges. In only one of the matches under investigation were all of the charges dismissed.

He has subsequently been hit with a significant ban from the sport, while also being fined and ordered to repay the ‘corrupt payments’ he received.

At his hearing, the Frenchman 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.”

Quentin’s Folliot’s Punishment For Match Fixing

Folliot was slapped with a 20-year ban from the sport, meaning that he will be just a few years shy of his 50th birthday by the time he is eligible to again be involved in tennis.

In addition to what is essentially a career-ending suspension, the player must also pay a fine of $70,000 [£52,217] and return ‘corrupt payments’ totaling more than $44,000.

With a career-high ranking of 488 back in 2022, Folliot never played in a Grand Slam. He was also never a full participant on the ATP tour. As a result, his career prize money earnings are believed to amount to just over $60,000 in total, meaning that his fine is larger than what he made (legitimately) from the sport.

Folliot’s final match as a professional [to date] came in March 2024. He will only be free to return to tennis in 2044 if he has paid the above fines in full at that time.