Nicolas Kicker, who last month was found guilty of fixing two challenger matches in 2015, has been banned for up to six years.
The Tennis Integrity Unit said Tuesday that the Argentine is banned for a minimum of three years, but the final three could be axed if he “commits no further breaches.”
The 25-year-old Kicker was removed from the French Open draw and provisionally suspended after the TIU announced his offenses shortly before that event began. It ruled that he also failed to report being approached by match fixers and cooperate fully with investigators.
The two matches in question occurred at separate challenger events three years ago. At the first, he lost 6-1, 6-2 to Duckhee Lee in Padova, Italy. Some keen observers noticed suspicious activity at the second event, in Barranquilla, Colombia, where he lost in three sets to Giovanni Lapentti.
Kicker was the No. 8 seed in that tournament, where nearly 800,000 euros of bets were placed on Betfair for his first round match. His performance prompted a website to write an article titled “How to fix a match (by Nicolas Kicker).”
Kicker, presently ranked 100th, reached a career high of 78 last year. He reached the third round of the Australian Open and at Indian Wells this year, and most recently played in Lyon the week before the French Open.
