French tennis player banned 7 months for betting on matches
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The International Tennis Federation says French player Constant Lestienne has been banned for seven months for gambling on matches, with half of the sentence suspended.
The 24-year-old Lestienne has also been fined $10,000 after admitting to the charges of betting on tennis.
The ITF, which investigated Lestienne in collaboration with French online gambling regulator ARJEL, says the 164th-ranked player placed bets on 220 matches through online accounts between February 2012 and June 2015.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The ITF says none of the bets were related to matches Lestienne played.
Lestienne's fine will be reduced to $5,000 if he gives assistance to the Tennis Integrity Unit, which was formed in 2008 by the ATP and WTA tours, the ITF and the Grand Slam Committee.