Google News ITIA gives fine to Mark Philippoussis over breach of tennis betting sponsorship rules
by DZEVAD MESIC
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that coach Mark Phillippoussis has been fined $10,000 for breaching tennis' betting sponsorship rules. Philippoussis, the 2003 Wimbledon runner-up, worked with Stefanos Tsitsipas for a year before the two split in May.
After splitting with Tsitsipas, Philippoussis started working with Maria Sakkari. According to the ITIA, Philippoussis received payment for providing a voiceover to promotional content for a gaming operator. Besides the $10,000 fine, Tsitsipas also received a suspended ban of four months.
The ITIA announces a sanction for Philippoussis
"The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) can today confirm it has issued a sanction to Australian tennis coach Mark Philippoussis for breaching tennis’ betting sponsorship rules.
Philippoussis, a former top-10 ATP singles player and current professional coach, has been fined $10,000 and issued with a suspended ban of four months after receiving payment for providing a voiceover to promotional content for a gaming operator.
Philippoussis co-operated fully with the ITIA investigation and did not contest the charge. The suspension does not come into force unless there is a further breach of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP) during a four-month period, which started on 21 July 2023.
As an accredited coach, Philippoussis is considered a 'Covered Person', meaning they are subject to the sport’s rules around relationships with betting operators," the ITIA's statement read. Although former top-10 player Philippoussis didn't bet on tennis matches, promoting a betting company as a tennis coach isn't permitted either.
“As a sport, tennis has decided that accredited individuals should not have commercial relationships with betting companies given their potential ability to influence matches, access to inside information, and therefore the perception of such relationships.
Whilst this case is clearly not one of corruption, it is a rule that players, coaches, and others in the sport need to be aware of," ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse said. During the grass season, it was reported that Philippoussis started working with Sakkari after splitting with Tsitsipas.