Former Wimbledon finalist fined for breaking betting sponsorship rules
Mark Philippoussis has copped a fine and been hit with a suspended ban after providing a voiceover to promotional content for a gaming operator, which is in breach of tennis’ betting sponsorship rules.
The Australian, who finished runner-up at the 1998 US Open and at Wimbledon in 2003, was fined $10,000 and issued with a suspended ban of four months as he received payment for voiceover content for a gaming operator.
As an accredited coach Philippoussis is considered a “Covered Person” and he is subject to Section D.1.b of the 2022 TACP rules states that: “No Covered Person shall directly or indirectly, facilitate, encourage and/or promote Tennis Betting (‘Facilitation’).”
Philippoussis coached world No 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas from July 2022 until May this year while he also worked with Maria Sakkari ahead of Wimbledon.
He was charged by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for breaching betting sponsorship rules, but co-operated with the investigation and did not contest the charge.
The suspension, though, will only be enforced should he breach the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP) during a four-month period, which started on 21 July 2023.
Karen Moorhouse, ITIA CEO, said: “As a sport, tennis has decided that accredited individuals should not have commercial relationships with betting companies given their potential ability to influence matches, access to inside information, and therefore the perception of such relationships. Whilst this case is clearly not one of corruption, it is a rule that players, coaches, and others in the sport need to be aware of.
“Our message to players and others covered by the TACP is that you can always talk to us if you are unsure of any rules, or are seeking clarity on any potential commercial arrangement.
“Preventing a breach before it occurs is always our preferred course of action, and players or covered persons can contact us at any time via our app, our social media accounts, or the contact form on our website.”
Besides finishing runner-up at two Grand Slams, Philippoussis won 11 ATP Tour singles titles during his career and reached a career-high of No 8 in the ATP Rankings in 1999 on the back of finishing runner-up to Pat Rafter at the 1998 US Open.
Five years later he reached a second Grand Slam final, but this time he was beaten by Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.
After suffering several career-threatening injuries, he left the sport in 2008 although he mounted a comeback two years later before retiring in 2015.
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