Marco Cecchinato has been found guilty of match-fixing and banned from tennis for 18 months following an investigation conducted by the Italian Tennis Federation.

The 23-year-old player has been accused of manipulating the outcome of matches. Suspicions arose following his straight sets loss to Polish qualifier Kamil Majchrzak in the quarter-finals of a Moroccan Challenger tournament on October 8th, 2015. The investigation found that he along with another player, Riccardo Accardi, made money on the game after Cecchinato deliberately changed the outcome. Accardi also received a 12-month suspension.

Cecchinato was accused of a total of five offences deemed as ‘illegal behaviour’. During the 2015 French Open, he reportedly gave insider information about the condition of Andreas Seppi the night before his clash with John Isner. The information was given to Accardi Riccardo, an Italian bettor. Cecchinato has denied any wrongdoing and has argued that the condition of Seppi was already publicly known.

Cecchinato’s five offences

Have altered the outcome of the match against Majchrzak in order to obtain illegal gains (for himself and Richard Accardi). Have wagered through accounts linked to Accardi. Have altered the outcome of the doubles play in Prostejov June 2, 2015, in which he teamed with Luca Vanni against Sergey Betov and Mikhail Elgin. Have given Accardi Riccardo confidential information on the conditions of Andreas Seppi on the eve of the match against John Isner at Roland Garros 2015. Having benefited from privileged information on the match between Lorenzo Frigerio and Daniel Cox.

Source: tennisbest.com

The Luca Vanni connection

Another high profile player involved in the investigation is Luca Vanni, a player known best for reaching the final of the 2015 Brasil Open. Officials discovered that Accardi made a high amount of money on a doubles match involving Cecchinato and Vanni at the Challenger tournament in Prostejov (2015), where they lost in the first round. The discovery was made after officials browsed Accardi’s WhatsApp messages.

Vanni was found guilty of committing an illegal offence, however, he settled the case with an undisclosed sentence. Vanni’s doubles match was one of five suspicious ones identified.

Why is this so significant?

The downfall of Cecchinato is a tragic one for Italian tennis. Last year the 23-year-old achieved a ranking best of 82nd in the world and made his grand slam debut at the 2015 US Open. Earlier this year, he recorded his first wins on the ATP Tour by reaching the quarter-finals of the Bucharest Open. He currently has a main draw win-loss record of the tour of 179-117 and has won two Challenger titles (both in Italy).

What Next?

As to every penalty handed out in common law, Cecchinato has the right to appeal his sentence, which also include a fine of 40,000 euros (almost a quarter of what he has earned on the tour this season). There is yet to be any comment from the player regarding his suspension and fine.

A comprehensive report into the Cecchinato’s case can be read here.