Meet The Man Who Still Manipulates Tennis Results Despite Serving Prison Time

In April this year, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) dropped a bombshell on the tennis world when it banned five French players—Yannick Thivant, Thomas Brechemier, Gabriel Petit, Thomas Setodji, and Hugo Daubias—for their roles in a sprawling match-fixing scandal. But as our investigative team has uncovered, this was merely the surface of a much deeper criminal operation that continues to fester behind the scenes.
At the center of the scheme lies Grigor Sargsyan, the convicted ringleader of a Belgian-based syndicate, who received a five-year prison sentence in 2023. Nicknamed “the Maestro” by investigators, Sargsyan orchestrated the manipulation of dozens of lower-tier tennis matches across Europe. However, despite his sentencing, Sargsyan’s grip on the underground tennis economy appears far from broken.
With just four players from the largest continent – Chinese shooting guard Cui Yongxi (Brooklyn Nets), Japanese point guard Yuki Kawamura (Memphis Grizzlies), Japanese power forward Rui Hachimura (Los Angeles Lakers) and Israeli small forward Deni Avdija (Portland Trail Blazers) – in the 2024-25 National Basketball Association (NBA) opening night rosters, Asia can be said to be also lagging behind Africa, which had 17.
Widely regarded as the best Asian player in NBA history, China’s Yao Ming acknowledges the gulf but believes that the gap between Asia and the best in the business can narrow through more and stronger competition.
New Evidence Uncovered: Match-Fixing for Cryptocurrency

Screenshot of the homepage from Grigor Sargsyan’s match-fixing website, featuring a cryptic invitation to “Enter the Club.”
Our journalists, posing as potential buyers, infiltrated achannel and encrypted forums allegedly linked to Sargsyan’s network. In exchange for Bitcoin payments, match-fixing tips are sold often hours before obscure ITF or Challenger-level matches. The details include betting instructions, predicted scores, and suspicious odds movements.
Screenshots from these platforms (see above) show website in which users are guaranteed results by betting on specific players, some of whom are under current investigation or have been previously sanctioned.
Despite his official incarceration, multiple sources suggest that Sargsyan continues to direct operations through intermediaries or via pre-arranged communication channels. Some insiders allege that he may have negotiated privileges or is operating remotely, exploiting gaps in enforcement.
“Better competition will help them find out their own weaknesses and strengths, and then we need a coach and teammates to help fix it and go to the next level.”
In response to a separate question from Xinhua, he added: “For Asia, we need to interact and connect more with the rest of the world. With comparison, we can then see what we can and cannot do and figure out what we hope to achieve in the future.”
With just four players from the largest continent – Chinese shooting guard Cui Yongxi (Brooklyn Nets), Japanese point guard Yuki Kawamura (Memphis Grizzlies), Japanese power forward Rui Hachimura (Los Angeles Lakers) and Israeli small forward Deni Avdija (Portland Trail Blazers) – in the 2024-25 National Basketball Association (NBA) opening night rosters, Asia can be said to be also lagging behind Africa, which had 17.
Widely regarded as the best Asian player in NBA history, China’s Yao Ming acknowledges the gulf but believes that the gap between Asia and the best in the business can narrow through more and stronger competition.

The payment page of the website, where we were asked to pay for access to insider betting information.
Who Are the Five Players?
The five sanctioned players paint a damning portrait of complicity:
Yannick Thivant, age 38, was handed a lifetime ban after admitting to manipulating 22 matches from 2017–2018. He was also fined US$75,000 and ordered to pay over €37,000 in restitution.
Thomas Setodji, 29, received a 10-year suspension and a US$20,000 fine for fixing three matches and failing to report corruption.
Thomas Brechemier, 28, the highest-ranked of the group (career-high No. 399), was banned for 7.5 years for fixing 11 matches. He admitted guilt and received a partial fine suspension.
Gabriel Petit, 29, was issued a 6.5-year suspension after failing to respond to charges.
Hugo Daubias, 28, received a 2-year suspension and a US$15,000 fine.
The timeline and overlapping match dates of these five players suggest coordinated activity, likely steered by Sargsyan’s syndicate. Investigators believe some of the match results these players influenced are still being circulated in betting tip packages online.
Yao was encouraged by Japan’s qualification for Paris 2024, South Korea’s emergence and the handful of Chinese players being selected by NBA teams, with 19-year-old centre Yang Hansen tipped to be picked in the 2025 NBA Draft, which begins on June 25 (June 26, Singapore time).
He said: “He is very talented and a very nice kid. I spoke to him about four weeks ago and wished him good luck. He deserves the best with all the effort he has put into it. With all the effort, no matter what happens, the draft is just one step in his long career, so keep going.
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MDDI (P) 048/10/2024. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. Copyright © 2025 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.