Tunisian tennis player banned 7 years for match-fixing

LONDON (AP) — Tunisian tennis player Majed Kilani has been banned from professional tennis for seven years after the sport’s anti-corruption body concluded he conspired to fix matches in 2016.

Kilani was also fined $7,000 by the Tennis Integrity Unit on Friday.

The TIU investigation “established that Mr. Kilani conspired with a third party to manipulate the outcome of matches played at an ITF Futures tournament in Egypt in August 2016.”

The 23-year-old Kilani also “failed to fully cooperate” with the investigation, the TIU said in a statement.

Kilani is currently ranked 804 in ATP singles and 528 in doubles, both of which are career bests, the statement added.

Kilani, who was a student-athlete at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma from 2015-19, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

The case was adjudicated by an independent hearing officer at a disciplinary hearing by videoconference on May 21.

Kilani is prohibited from playing in or attending any tennis event authorized or sanctioned by tennis’ governing bodies for seven years from June 25.