Tennis player Kicker in match-fixing row

PARIS: Argentinian tennis player Nicolas Kicker faces a lifetime ban after being found guilty of fixing two matches on the second-tier Challenger Tour, the Tennis Integrity Unit announced Thursday.

Kicker, 25, was found guilty of contriving the outcome of a match at the ATP Challenger event in Padova, Italy, in June 2015 and another match at the Baranquilla Challenger in Colombia in September that year. He was also found guilty of failing to report a corrupt approach and of not co-operating with a TIU investigation into the allegations made against him.

“Having been found guilty of all charges, he will be sanctioned at a future date to be determined by Independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO) Jane Mulcahy,” said a TIU statement. “Details of the decision on sanctions will be made public when received.” Kicker is currently ranked at 84 in the world having reached a career high of 78 in June 2017. He reached the third round of the Australian Open in January this year and the also the third round at the Indian Wells Masters.