Russian Player Arrested at French Open

The French Open has moved from one controversy to another with a Russian player now accused of match-fixing. Thursday got progressively worse for Yana Sizikova, who lost her opening round doubles match with fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in Paris, then was arrested and had her hotel room searched, French newspaper Le Parisien reports, via the Guardian. The 26-year-old, ranked 101st in doubles and 765th in singles, is accused of match-fixing at last year's tournament, which took place in September. Bookmakers had warned of unusual betting patterns during Sizikova's first-round doubles match with American Madison Brengle on Sept. 30, which they lost to Romanian players Andreea Mitu and Patricia Maria Tig.

"Hundreds of thousands of euros were reportedly wagered on a break of serve at 2-2 in set two," per the Guardian. "Sizikova was broken to love serving in the fifth game of the second set, during which she double-faulted twice," per the AP. An investigation was launched the following month. The International Tennis Integrity Agency now says it had ongoing contact with law enforcement in France. The Paris prosecutor's office said Friday that a "women's international player" had been arrested on charges of "sports bribery and organized fraud." Shamil Tarpischev, president of the Russian Tennis Federation, is aware of Sizikova's arrest, per Reuters. But "we have not received any documents [related to the case], so it’s difficult to make an assessment of what has happened," he says. (This isn't the first such allegation in tennis.)