French tennis player banned 7 months for betting on matches

PARIS (AP) — The Tennis Integrity Unit 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 TIU, 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.

The TIU 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 International Tennis Federation and the Grand Slam Committee.