This fraud allegation shakes the tennis world. Two top players are said to be involved in betting fraud. This is proven by “ZDF” research. According to this, the Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili (number 28 in the world rankings) and Aslan Karatsev (number 35) from Russia are said to be involved in so-called “match fixing”, i.e. sports fraud. The trail leads to a common trainer.
Belarusian coach Yahor Yatsik has been accused of offering at least two players money to postpone tennis matches in the past. This emerges from the investigation files of the tennis world association ITF available to “ZDF”. Yatsik coached both Basilashvilli (2013) and Karatsev (2018-2021).
Another currently active Eastern European trainer charged Yatsik on “ZDF”: “He has been involved in betting fraud for years, works with people who have to do with match fixing in Russia and Eastern Europe,” said the trainer, who wants to remain anonymous in the reporting .
And further: “He always has a lot of money with him, is on the tour and is looking for young players who have problems. Financial or mental. He can easily convince them with money.”
Investigations come to nothing
The coach knows that Yatsik was in close contact with both top players. “Yatsik worked closely with both players, observed them for years. They are both incredibly talented players. But they had financial problems at the beginning and also major phases of weakness, slipped down in the rankings. He approached them at a critical moment in their careers .”
The “ZDF” report is about five allegedly postponed matches with unusually high betting swings – the Russian Karatsev was involved in all five. Two of them also fall into the period in which he worked with coach Yatsik. A doubles in Finland in 2019 and a doubles in Kazakhstan in 2020 – both before Karatsev made the big break.
Particularly spicy: Coach Yatsik and player Karatsev were interrogated by the French police together during the French Open 2020, “l’Équipe” reported in May. But nothing else happened after that.
Also manipulated in Germany
The Russian is also said to have manipulated at a German tournament – the ATP tournament most recently in Stuttgart. Again at a double. There were noticeably high bets on a defeat.
Karatsev is no stranger to investigators. Tom Mace, Director of Operations at Sportradar, the monitoring company that monitors the betting market for the world association, explains on “ZDF”: “I can confirm that we analyzed Aslan Karatsev’s matches because of our contracts with the world association and the ITIA I cannot give any information about specific results.”
But the responsible world authority is silent, does not want to comment on Karasev and Yatsik to ZDF. Nor on the question of why both are not blocked despite the investigations in France. But who is banned for life is Karatsev’s former girlfriend Sofia Dmitrieva.
Investigations should be ongoing
The players: be silent! Karatsev gave an interview to “ZDF”, but later withdrew his statements. According to Russian media, proceedings against Basilashvillil for match fixings are currently under way at the ITIA.
After all, his first-round doubles at Wimbledon 2021 are said to have been postponed. Here, too, there were conspicuously high betting odds for a defeat. Several betting providers and people familiar with the matter confirmed this to “ZDF”.