For the second year running Marco Trungelliti is making headlines during the same time as the French Open, but for a very different and more serious reason.
12 months ago the tennis world was enthralled by his 10-hour drive to Roland Garros after receiving a lucky loser spot into the competition at the last minute. He travelled a total of 650 miles with his grandmother Dafne (who was 89 at the time), mother Susanna and brother Andre. What was even more remarkable was that he managed to win his first round match against Bernard Tomic, before losing in the second round. Exiting the tournament with €79,000.
Trungelliti was one of the feel good stories of the 2018 tournament, but has since been caught up in one of the most serious match-fixing investigations to ever strike professional tennis in his home country. The evidence given by the 29-year-old to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) resulted in the suspension of three players. The most notable of which was Nicolas Kicker, who reached a ranking high of 78th.
“It took the TIU longer than they should have to announce. It seems that the pressure built to a point that they couldn’t ignore it.” Trungelliti wrote in a post for Behind The Racket.
“It was not a good situation and set a bad example for players who wanted to report anything. It was truly sad to see that a controversial ball mark posted on Twitter got way more attention than the serious problem we have in tennis. Players and coaches are throwing matches and gambling on tennis, and I tried to do my part to stop it.”
In the aftermath of the investigation, the Argentine voiced anger at the anti-corruption body. In an interview with the Associated Press last month, he said he was ‘used’ by the TIU and was still ‘paying the price.’ On the tour, Trungelliti revealed that some players have event stopped talking to him following the trio of suspensions.
Eventually the TIU did publish a statement of support for Trungelliti. However, it was released three months after the investigation was first reported by Newspaper La Nacion on February 10th.
“It was truly sad to see that a controversial ball mark posted on Twitter got way more attention than the serious problem we have in tennis. Players and coaches are throwing matches and gambling on tennis, and I tried to do my part to stop it.” He wrote.
“The worst part about this is I was not as supported as I thought I would be, getting called a snitch by multiple people. I was receiving hate from people in Argentina, Latin America and other regions.”
The world No.140 says life back home is ‘not great’ following his testimonials with the families of the suspended players outraged with him.
Players suspended with the help of Trungelliti
-Nicolas Kicker (ranking high of 78th) = Six-year ban with three of those being suspended
-Patricio Heras (ranking high of 463rd) = Five-year ban with two of those being suspended
-Federico Coria (ranking high of 170) = Eight-month ban with two of those being suspended
The governing bodies of tennis have pledged to work harder in tackling corruption since an investigation by the BBC and Buzzfeed News in 2016 alleged that there was widespread match-fixing in the sport. Last year the Independent Review Panel (IRP) concluded that there has been no cover-up of match-fixing in the sport, but it is a problem at lower level events. Where the prize money is low. 464 out of the 3200 professionals questioned admitted they had first-hand knowledge of match-fixing. Under current rules, if a player fails to report illegal activities on the tour that they know of, they face a potential suspension.
Whilst some may argue the situation is improving, Trungelliti believes lower ranked players are being given different treatment compared to those at the top.
“It seems as if the top players are playing in a different league, where corruption and financial problems rarely touch them. I feel separated from them and I know other players are with me. Even at the better challengers, and even 250’s, we are not treated how we should be. I am not sure if the people at the top understand this. Corruption exists here for this reason and it all needs to change.” He concluded.
Trungelliti participated in the French Open qualification tournament this week, but lost in the first round to Hugo Gaston.