Peng Renlong has been banned for 12 years; the Chinese Tennis Association: Further actions will be taken based on the violations identified.

The ITIA announced on the 20th that Chinese tennis player Peng Renlong received a 12-year ban and a $110,000 fine (with $70,000 suspended) due to match-fixing or attempted match-fixing.

Peng Renlong

According to the ITIA, Peng Renlong admitted to manipulating five singles matches in ITF World Tennis Tour M15, M25, and ATP Challenger 50 events between May and September 2024, and engaging in 17 corrupt approaches involving other professional players, resulting in six additional matches being fixed. The 25-year-old Peng’s highest career singles ranking was world No. 1316, and he once won a men’s doubles title at the CTA Zhengzhou tournament.

The report states that Peng Renlong accepted the sanction agreement reached with ITIA. His suspension starts from November 7, 2024, and will last until November 6, 2036. During the ban, Peng is prohibited from participating in, coaching, or attending any tennis events authorized or approved by ITIA members (including the ITF, ATP, WTA, Tennis Australia, French Tennis Federation, Wimbledon, and the USTA) or any national (regional) association.

Statement from the Chinese Tennis Association

On the evening of the 20th, the Chinese Tennis Association issued a statement saying: “As the national governing body for the sport, we firmly oppose any actions that damage the industry’s integrity and fair competition. We will take further measures against the athlete according to the violations and in accordance with national laws, regulations, and industry management rules.”

“Moving forward, first, we must enhance risk awareness and strengthen industry governance. We will lead the tennis sector in deepening understanding of the harm caused by athletes’ breaches of industry norms and professional ethics, firmly establish risk awareness, and promptly prevent and resolve ‘black swan’ and ‘gray rhino’ events. Second, we will improve the institutional framework to reinforce the foundation of integrity. This includes establishing mechanisms to punish unethical conduct and blacklist offenders, boosting education efforts, and integrating sportsmanship, professional ethics, and rule awareness into athlete development programs to instill a sense of fair play and honesty from an early age, creating a healthy environment for tennis growth. Third, we will adopt systematic thinking and focus on targeted governance. Collaborating with public security, cyber authorities, and others, we aim to sever illegal profit chains, crack down heavily on key figures in critical areas, and eliminate detrimental elements from the industry.”

(Written and edited by: Dato)