tennis-web-st

Picture Credit: Twitter

In a shocking turn of events, Chilean tennis coach Sebastian Rivera has been handed a lifetime ban from the sport for being guilty of a record-breaking 64 match-fixing offences.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency confirmed the numbers as the highest ever detected by a player. According to ITIA, Rivera failed to 'engage meaningfully with the disciplinary process' and was fined for @250,000.

Notably, Rivera had been provisionally suspended in June while the charges against him were investigated but recently received a lifetime ban from playing coaching, playing and attending any events sanctioned by the ATP or the sport's other governing bodies. 

"The International Tennis Integrity Agency has confirmed that Sebastian Rivera, a Chilean tennis coach and former player, has been banned from the sports for life after being found guilty of 64 match fixing offences. The highest number ever detected for a player by the ITIA or its predecessor the Tennis Integrity Unit," the statement reads.

"Rivera breached the rules included soliciting others to wager on the outcome of matches, attempting to contrive the outcome of a match, accepting money with the intention to negatively influence a player's best efforts and offering money with the intention of negatively influencing a player's best efforts, the ITIA statement explained. 

Speaking about his career, Rivera has 115 victories under his belt as he played 218 matches as a player. He reached 705 in the ATP rankings in the year 2009, which is his career best. However, he has not competed as a player on the professional circuit since 2017.