Just a few days before the French Open, the tennis world was rocked by another match-fixing scandal on Thursday.
Nicolas Kicker, the 84th-ranked men’s player in the world, was found guilty of “contriving the outcome of a match” in June of 2015 at the ATP Challenger tournament in Padova, Italy and another match at the ATP Challenger tournament in Baranquilla, Colombia.
The news caught everyone, including Kicker, by surprise as the 25-year-old Argentine was slated to practice twice today with Kei Nishikori to continue his preparation for Roland Garros.
https://www.actionnetwork.com/tennis/article/nicolas-kicker-match-fixing-tennis-betting-scandal[DOUBLEPOST=1527435119][/DOUBLEPOST]PARIS — The Tennis Integrity Unit announced Thursday that 84th-ranked Nicolás Kicker had been found guilty of match-fixing offenses, making him the highest-ranked player at time of conviction to be punished by the unit.
His penalty has not yet been determined, but he will be prohibited from entering sanctioned tennis tournaments while awaiting that decision.
The announcement came just before Kicker was to be placed in the French Open draw on Thursday evening at Roland Garros. Mark Harrison, the spokesman for the T.I.U., the sport’s watchdog body, confirmed that his organization had removed Kicker from the entry list for the tournament, which begins Sunday, before the draw was made. Kicker had been on the tournament grounds Thursday and was scheduled to practice.