THE AUTHOR:<\/strong> The 2nd<\/sup> edition of \u201cDoping and Match Fixing in Tennis & Beyond<\/em>\u201d organized by Derains & Gharavi<\/a> and held on 23 March 2026 as part of the tenth edition of Paris Arbitration Week, took place in the prestigious presidential box of the Philippe-Chatrier Court at Roland-Garros and brought together leading voices of all segments of the sports industry for an in-depth debate under the auspices of the host and organizer Hamid Gharavi<\/a>. The focus of this year\u2019s conference were the increasingly sophisticated practices of doping and match-fixing and how sports federations must constantly adapt in order to preserve the integrity of competitions and protect athletes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The discussion was co-moderated by Mr Hamid Gharavi<\/a><\/strong> (Founding partner of Derains & Gharavi) and Ms Jo\u00eblle Monlouis<\/a><\/strong> (lawyer and Secretary General of the French Football Federation), and the speakers included Mr Ben Rutherford<\/a><\/strong> (Senior Director, Legal at the International Tennis Integrity Agency (\u201cITIA<\/strong>\u201d)), Mr Ross Wenzel<\/a><\/strong> (General Counsel at World Anti-Doping Agency (\u201cWADA<\/strong>\u201d)), Mr Giovanni Fares (Executive Director of the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation), Mr William McAuliffe<\/a><\/strong> (Head of Disciplinary of the Union of European Football Associations (\u201cUEFA\u201d). Tennis stars Mr Mansour Bahrami (Director <\/strong>of the Legends Tournament, Ambassador of the French Tennis Federation), Mr Eric Deblicker<\/strong> (coach and former ATP top 50 player), Mr Richard Gasquet<\/strong> (former ATP world No. 7), and Mr C\u00e9dric Pioline<\/strong>, former ATP world No. 5, Director of the Paris-Bercy Tournament), provided their practical insights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr Gharavi opened the conference by thanking the President of the French Tennis Federation, Mr Gilles Moretton, present for the kickoff, as well as CEO Stephane Morel, the speakers, and particularly his friends: tennis players who exceptionally accepted to attend and share so openly in trust and confidence their practical experience which is unprecedented. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr Morel followed by thanking Mr Gharavi in turn for the initiative emphasizing the importance of mobilizing all stakeholders in the fight against sophisticated practices of doping and match-fixing, which presents a greater threat to the integrity of the sport. He stressed the need, at every level of the sports ecosystem, to educate and raise awareness among all actors, including, for example, players, coaches, and broadcasters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He highlighted the interest of all parties to engage in \u201ccleaner\u201d sport practices, increasing integrity, credibility and, in turn, the overall value of sports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The conference first focused on current issues related to doping. Mr Wenzel opened the discussion by presenting the WADA, an independent international organization established in 1999 at the initiative of the International Olympic Committee (\u201cIOC\u201d). Its mission is to develop, harmonize and coordinate the global fight against doping in sport. Its governance and funding are equally shared between the sports movement and governments and now include athlete representatives. Further, WADA\u2019s first World Anti-Doping Code (\u201cCode\u201d) took effect as of January 2004 and since then been regularly updated with the new Code taking effect in January 2027. The Code applies to international sports federations, national anti-doping organizations, and major competition organizers, such as the IOC, provided they are signatories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WADA works closely with national anti-doping agencies, sports federations, and specialized bodies such as the ITIA, which was presented by Mr Rutherford. Created in 2021 by the ATP, the International Tennis Federation and tennis organizations as an independent body, the ITIA aims to safeguard the integrity of professional tennis worldwide by combating corruption, match-fixing, and doping. In this context, the ITIA provides practical support to players in meeting their anti-doping obligations and develops educational programs to inform players and their support teams about the applicable legal framework. It also has independent investigative powers and may impose sanctions for violations of the WADA Code. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr Rutherford explained that ITIA performs around 8,000 tests a year, which is split between \u201cin-competition\u201d and \u201cout-competition\u201d. He also explained that ITIA endeavors to use its resources wisely and strives to subject the players at the top end of the sport to doping tests more frequently. On the other hand, lower ranked players, without big tournament experience, are tested less frequently. Mr Rutherford emphasized that this distribution of tests, rather than purely random application across 15,000 professional players, allows for the preservation of brand value for big tournaments such as Roland Garros, as it ensures that players competing in these tournaments are tested regularly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr Pioline highlighted the importance of such oversight and the collaboration between the tournament organizers and the ITIA to achieve the cleanest level in tennis. He added that young players, often entering the circuit with limited financial resources, may be particularly vulnerable to temptation. He emphasized their need for protection and education on the subject matter, which in turn conveys a positive message to fans and maintains the sponsors\u2019 trust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was raised that, in practice, two major challenges face players throughout their careers: whereabouts obligations and the risk of contamination. Indeed, three missed tests or a positive test can have irreversible consequences for a player\u2019s career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regarding whereabouts requirements, Ms Monlouis questioned Mr Wenzel about the strictness of the system. Mr Wenzel explained that players must provide their daily availability and location through the ADAMS system to allow for unannounced testing. According to him, such strict rules are necessary: in case of doubt, testing must prevail. Mr Wenzel emphasized that the whereabouts system, although imperfect and burdensome, is critically important to the success of the anti-doping program run by WADA as it allows WADA to test the athletes at the right time and location, adjusting to and meeting the challenge of increasingly sophisticated doping practices. Mr Wenzel also added that doping practices are detected not only through tests, but also investigations and whistleblowers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr Rutherford added that in a sport like tennis, where players travel frequently, this requirement demands heightened vigilance. This is particularly important because in tennis, as opposed to team sports, most of the events are \u201cknock-out events\u201d, meaning that the athlete may have planned to stay in the tournament but may end up leaving earlier if eliminated, which requires them to update their whereabouts even in the middle of a tournament. To ease this burden, ITIA has introduced support tools such as WhatsApp channels allowing players to more easily report location changes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Regarding contamination risks, Mr Wenzel acknowledged the difficulty of determining whether the presence of a prohibited substance is intentional or accidental, such as contamination from partners or objects, as technology has now made it possible to detect very low levels of prohibited substances. Many cases involve unintentional ingestion yet those cases can still lead to sanctions. Defending such cases can be costly, in response to which ITIA provides players with access to a list of pro bono<\/em> lawyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr Gharavi underscored the disparity in the extent of anti-doping controls in different sports disciplines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr Gharavi then asked the Players their personal experience with anti-doping tests and how did this requirement affect the organization of their professional and personal lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The guest players provided their insight into the anti-doping procedures and how they have evolved over the course of their careers, most especially Messrs Bahrami, Deblicker and Pioline, who walked the audience via entertaining and telling examples through the challenges of the past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Richard Gasquet accepted in trust and confidence to respond to Hamid Gharavi\u2019s inquiries about his experience at CAS, where he prevailed, but at great emotional and financial costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second part of the conference addressed the challenge of match-fixing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr McAuliffe explained that within UEFA, several teams are dedicated to safeguarding the integrity of football, including one specifically focused on combating match-fixing. Unlike anti-doping efforts, which rely on scientific analysis, this work is primarily investigative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the key indicators is the manipulation and suspicious financial activity of betting markets. Specialized companies analyze betting patterns and detect suspicious behavior. The system notably includes preventive measures: at the start of a season, if serious concerns arise, a club may be denied entry into the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was highlighted that match-fixing generally affects smaller clubs with limited resources rather than major teams. Nonetheless, UEFA\u2019s integrity unit has jurisdiction across all competitions and conducts thorough investigations, which may include analyzing data from mobile phones, given the seriousness of the offenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, the need for regulatory bodies to adapt to emerging challenges, such as the rise of predictive betting platforms like Polymarket, was also raised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr Gharavi pointed out that top-ranked players were at times approached (and not just average ranked players) by intermediaries but did not report by fear of repercussions and disruptions on their careers. Also, he underlined the importance of training and informing players that they will necessarily be caught if they engage in match fixing because of the betting alerts, the matching scores, the examination of their devices and the criminal investigation of States judiciaries on the criminal networks. Mr Gasquet also confirmed that even top-ranked players are approached and may even be threatened by those involved in such schemes and candidly admitted that he himself was approached once. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond tennis and football, other sports are also affected by various forms of misconduct. Mr Fares addressed the specific challenges faced in his discipline. Following the Larry Nassar scandal, in which a former doctor of the U.S. women\u2019s gymnastics team was found guilty of the sexual abuse of more than 265 gymnasts, the International Gymnastics Federation (now World Gymnastics) established the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This independent body aims to protect athletes and stakeholders in gymnastics from all forms of harassment and abuse. It allows for anonymous reporting of ethical violations, conduct investigations, initiates disciplinary proceedings, and, where appropriate, imposes sanctions. It also ensures compliance with principles of good governance and ethics among federation members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In response to an audience question regarding live betting, Mr Rutherford noted that ITIA does not have regulatory authority over it, but countries like France have introduced strict requirements. He suggested that it may even be helpful if the betting companies shared data with regulators as that information can be leveraged by ITIA for investigations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In conclusion, the conference highlighted the growing complexity of integrity issues in sport. Faced with constantly evolving practices, only a collective effort, bringing together institutions, athletes, and all stakeholders, can safeguard the credibility of competitions. More than ever, education, cooperation, and vigilance remain the cornerstones of a more ethical and sustainable sporting environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This article was originally published in PBA Bulletin on 17 April 2026, as part of a special edition curated by Paris Baby Arbitration (PBA)<\/a>, in collaboration with Jus Mundi <\/a>and Jus Connect<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Agathe Bertoux<\/strong>, D.U droit du sport Candidate at Universit\u00e9 Paris-Est Cr\u00e9teil (“UPEC”)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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As part of Paris Arbitration Week 2026, Paris Baby Arbitration (PBA)<\/a><\/strong>, in collaboration with Daily Jus<\/a><\/strong> and Jus Mundi<\/a><\/strong>, brings together contributions in a special edition of PBA Bulletin<\/a>,<\/strong> sharing reflections and perspectives from across this year\u2019s events.<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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