LONDON, August 28, 2025 (ITIA Press Release)
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) can today confirm that Bulgarian tennis player Simon Ivanov has been suspended from the sport for a period of five years and fined $25,000 for offenses under the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).
25-year-old Ivanov, who reached a career-high world singles ranking of 598 in 2023, refused to attend a hearing chaired by independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO) Professor Richard McLaren, who found Ivanov liable for a breach of Section D.1.a. (wagering) of the 2022 TACP, with over €196,000 staked on professional tennis matches between February and October 2022, and Section F.2.b. (non-cooperation) of the 2024 TACP.
Upon issuing a decision, AHO McLaren extended the sanction length by an additional 12 months because of the player’s “intimidating” and “threatening” conduct throughout the arbitration process.
Following a number of suspicious match alerts relating to at least 11 matches played by Ivanov between November 2019 and April 2024, the ITIA launched an investigation, interviewing the player four times between 2022 and 2024, which included issuing written requests to analyse the player’s known mobile devices as part of the investigation into potential corrupt activity.
The player, who was believed to have access to multiple mobile devices, did not comply fully with these requests, later challenging the jurisdiction of the TACP, and refusing to participate in proceedings.
In the written decision, dated 15 August 2025, AHO McLaren stated that Ivanov’s challenges to jurisdiction were “entirely groundless”, and that their behaviour was “an attempt at intimidating individuals, and it is completely improper in light of the commitments of the Player to be bound by the TACP. The threats and submissions are rejected and dismissed without further response as baseless.”
During the period of ineligibility, which ends on 14 August 2030, Ivanov is prohibited from playing in, coaching at, or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA (ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, Fédération Française de Tennis, Wimbledon and USTA) or any national association.
