LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Spanish tennis player Guillermo Olaso lost his appeal against a five-year ban for match-fixing.
In dismissing Olaso’s case on Thursday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said “the sanction was proportionate and appropriate in the circumstances.”
The Tennis Integrity Unit last year found Olaso guilty of three corruption offenses dating back to 2010, including directly or indirectly seeking to “contrive the outcome or any other aspect of any event.”
CAS said the case centered on “irregularities” in a match at the Challenger-level President’s Cup event played in November 2010 at Astana, Kazakhstan.
“Irregular betting patterns had been flagged to the TIU in advance of the match, with bets having been placed on the lower ranked player to win,” the court said in a statement.
Then ranked No. 232 Olaso, lost 6-3, 6-3 in the first round to a Kazakh wild-card entry whose ATP ranking rose to No. 905 after the tournament.
Olaso served zero aces, eight double faults and landed just 45 percent of his first serves, according to ATP statistical records of the match.
He was also found guilty of two counts of failing to report approaches to provide inside information or influence the outcome of any aspect of a match.
The TIU sanction allows the 26-year-old Olaso to avoid serving the final 18 months of his ban if he has repaid the $25,000 fine and attended anti-corruption and rehabilitation programs.
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