Stefan Milicevic given 24-year ban by ITIA over match‑fixing and recruitment charges
Serbian tennis player Stefan Milicevic was handed a 24-year ban from tennis by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on Thursday after being charged with fixing matches and recruiting players into an alleged corrupt network.
The 29-year-old was suspended until October 2050 and fined $70,000, the ITIA said. It charged Milicevic with fixing six matches, including five in which he competed, and attempting to fix six more between 2022 and 2024, and accused him of recruiting or attempting to recruit multiple professional players into a network linked to match‑fixing during the same period. Milicevic, who competed primarily in lower‑tier tournaments, reached a career‑high singles ranking of 1,338 in 2014.
According to the ITIA, the alleged network resulted in other players fixing matches. The agency did not disclose the specific matches it alleges were fixed. It also did not identify the other players it accused of participating in the network.
The ITIA said Milicevic did not engage with its investigation or respond to its findings despite seven separate attempts to contact him. The agency stated his lack of cooperation was a factor in the severity of the sanction. The ITIA made those points in announcing the disciplinary outcome.
The ban bars Milicevic from playing at events organised or sanctioned by the ATP, WTA, Grand Slams, World Tennis or any national tennis association. It also prevents him from coaching at those events and from attending them. The suspension therefore covers participation in and presence at the sport’s governing bodies’ competitions and activities.
Milicevic’s suspension follows another major case: French player Quentin Folliot was banned for 20 years in December after an investigation identified him as a central figure in a network allegedly working for a match‑fixing syndicate. Folliot, who reached a career‑high ranking of 488 in 2022, denied charges relating to 11 matches played between 2022 and 2024; a hearing upheld 27 of the 30 charges against him, covering 10 of those matches.
The ITIA’s sanction keeps Milicevic barred from the sport until October 2050, when he will be 53.