In its latest enforcement action, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has issued a three-month suspension against a player who associated themselves with a suspended individual.
ITIA Targets Rule Breakers without Leniency
This penalty is enforced under the “prohibited association” clause of the body’s TACP regulatory framework. The Tennis Anti-Corruption Program flatly prohibits association with individuals who are already undergoing sanction or scrutiny of some sort under the regulatory mandates.
In this case, German player Mina Hodzic associated himself with Jordi Marse-Vidri at an event in Barcelona in October 2024, ITIA said in a public statement.
Marse-Vidri is suspended from the game for various offenses and is currently serving a 15-year ban from attending professional competitions sanctioned by international tennis bodies or participating in such.
Players who are not suspended, in turn, have an obligation under TACP to avoid contact with such individuals. ITIA has not rushed to an enforcement action and has cautioned Hodzic against associating herself with Marse-Vidri, which had offered coaching to the player.
Hodzic will now have to sit out any professional competition until June 5, 2025, and pay a $1,000 fine. Hozdic will have to oblige with suspension rules to be reinstated at the deadline, which includes not attending or participating in events.
Among the events she cannot participate in are those sanctioned by the ITF, WTA, USTA, ITIA, and others.
Marse-Vidri Part of One of the Most Significant Match-Fixing Offenses
As to Marse-Vidri, he was involved in what ITIA flatly described as one of the most significant cases of corruption in the sport. He was one of six players to receive and be convicted of criminal charges related to match-fixing activities.
Together with Marc Fornell Mestres, Carlos Ortega, Jaime Ortega, Marcos Torralbo, and Pedro Bernabe Franco, the players orchestrated a number of fixed games that were meant to allow sports bettors to win on certain outcomes.
Marse-Vidri was suspended in 2022 and ordered to pay a $15,000 fine, with $5,000 of that fine suspended. ITIA did not offer any more details as to what the relationship between Hodzic and Marse-Vidri was nor whether Marse-Vidri had tried to potentially convince Hodzic to help him fix games.