Brazilian tennis player banned for life for match-fixing

Joao Olavo Soares de Souza of Brazil has been banned for life and fined $200,000 by the International Tennis Federation after being found guilty of match-fixing and corruption.

The Tennis Integrity Unit announced the sanctions Saturday following a hearing earlier this month in London. The 31-year-old Brazilian player had been provisionally suspended since March of last year.

An integrity unit investigation revealed that between 2015 and 2019, Souza was involved in match-fixing at ATP Challenger and ITF Futures tournaments in Brazil, Mexico, the United States and Czech Republic.

Anti-corruption hearing officer Richard McLaren found Souza guilty of the charges, and of failing to report corrupt approaches, of failing to cooperate with an investigation — including destroying evidence — and soliciting other players not to use their best efforts.

Souza reached a career-high singles ranking of 69 in April 2015.