Serbian player Stefan Milicevic banned for 24 years for match-fixing

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced on Thursday, 15 October 2026, that Serbian player Stefan Milicevic has been banned from tennis for 24 years and fined $70,000 for match-fixing. The 29-year-old was found to have fixed six matches and attempted to fix six others between 2022 and 2024.

The suspension took effect on 9 October 2026 and runs until 8 October 2050.

The charges

According to the ITIA's announcement, Milicevic was a player in five of the six matches he fixed. He was also charged with recruiting, or attempting to recruit, multiple professional players into what the agency described as a corrupt network, which resulted in other players fixing matches. The ITIA did not name the other players or identify the matches involved.

Milicevic reached a career-high singles ranking of No 1338 in August 2014, far below the level covered by our ATP rankings page.

How the sanction was reached

The ITIA said it investigated the case in 2026 and made seven separate attempts, through several channels, to contact Milicevic, who did not engage with the investigation. The agency then issued a Notice of Major Offense on 24 September 2026. Because he did not respond, a deemed sanction applied under the anti-corruption rules and the ITIA's sanctioning guidelines, rather than a case before an independent hearing officer.

The New York Post and TennisUpToDate both reported that the ITIA said his lack of co-operation did not factor into the length of the ban.

What the ban covers

For its duration, Milicevic may not play in, coach at or attend any event organised or sanctioned by World Tennis, the ATP, the WTA, the Grand Slams or any national tennis association. That covers every level of the sport described in our guide to tournament categories, from entry-level professional events to the majors.

The ITIA's role and recent precedent

The ITIA is the independent body set up by tennis's governing bodies to run the sport's anti-corruption and anti-doping programmes. Its investigations into lower-tier professional tennis, where prize money is small and matches attract less scrutiny, have produced several long bans in recent years.

The closest recent comparison is French player Quentin Folliot, banned for 20 years and fined $70,000 in December 2025. CBS Sports reported that the ITIA described Folliot as a central figure in a network of players working for a match-fixing syndicate, and that his case also covered matches between 2022 and 2024.

What it means: a 24-year ban for a player in his late twenties is effectively a lifetime exclusion, and the recruitment charge appears central to its length. The ITIA has not said whether further cases linked to the network will follow, and none should be assumed until the agency announces them.