2024-05-09 03:01:00
Tennis player Eduardo Agustín Torrewho became 596th in the ATP singles ranking, was suspended for five years and received a $35,000 fine after committing “35 violations” of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program, as reported by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
The 29-year-old from Olavarria, who has not played professionally since November 2018 – he last did so at a Future in Viña del Mar, Chile -, He has been living in Mexico for some years. and is dedicated to paddle tennis, a sport in which competes in nothing less than the A1 Padel circuit, the second in relevance at an international level -after Premier Padel-.
Born on October 18, 1994, Torre is the sixth Argentine tennis player sanctioned for issues related to match fixing: in 2018 they were suspended Nicolás Kicker (three years; reduced to two years and eight months; “I have a second chance”), Patrick Heras (three years), Federico Coria (two months for failure to report attempted bribery); and in 2021 they fell Franco Feitt, who was marginalized for life for having violated the Anti-Corruption Program on several occasions between 2014 and 2018, and Nicolas Arrechewho was given a four-year suspension.
The sanction, as reported by the ITIA, is related to a criminal case involving a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium. The collaboration between the ITIA and the Belgian authorities led to a five-year prison sentence for Grigor Sargsyanthe leader of the union. The charges against Torre relate to crimes from 2017, but the ITIA case was adjourned until after the conclusion of the criminal proceedings.
The charges against the tennis player included facilitating bets, manipulating the results of matches, the request for money or benefits to negatively influence a player’s best efforts, failure to report bribery attempts and failure to report corruption crimes. According to Página / 12, during his years as an active tennis player he even acted as an intermediary, those players who do not participate in betting but act as a link between their colleagues on the circuit and the bettorsto whom they provide the information of the interested parties.
Torre, who was 596th in September 2014, “failed to respond to the allegations.” The case was ruled by an independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO) named Amani Khalifa. “By failing to respond to ITIA’s charges, Torre effectively admitted liability for all charges and agreed to the sanctions,” the ITIA reported. The suspension began to run from the date of the decision – April 26, 2024 – and will expire on April 25, 2029.
How mafias operate
Betting mafias operate with great freedom in the microworld of tennis and, although they are persecuted by the ITIA – which was born in 2007 as the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) -, they ensure that the main victims are the players themselves in a sport marked by economic inequalitywith an abysmal difference in prizes between the few who can make a living from tennis and an enormous majority who live day to day.
The minor circuits, in which the uneven distribution of money is most felt, They form the substantial basis for business drivers. As this media learned, in the Futures – current ITF World Tour, the first step of professional tennis – They can offer between 2000 and 3500 dollars for losing a match and between 1000 and 1500 for losing a set, although they can even arrange with the player who loses, for example, a partial, an exact result.
In the midst of the match-fixing epidemic, considered the biggest crime in a world proliferated by gambling and for units that benefit from the delay -between six and ten seconds- what is with the livescorethere is a middle point: that of mediators, those intermediaries who bring together interested parties and They get a commission for their work.
As this newspaper learned some years ago, Torre himself dedicated himself to that activity in addition to explicit match fixing. The mediators do not participate in the bets but emerge as a link: They have direct contact with bettors and receive commissions close to $300. Your job is simple: send some messages and coordinate the results.
Business owners usually deliver incognito cell phones for intermediaries, whose experience often reaches violent limits. Players use secure applications so that conversations are not recorded and are managed with the cell phone hidden. “Twice I was face to face with high rollers and one even threatened me,” they once told this medium.
Torre’s life in paddle tennis
Agustín Torre, away from tennis since the investigations against him began, He has been dedicated to professional padel for several years. And he is not a minor player: in the present It is ranked 7th in the A1 Padel ranking, the second most important circuit internationally, owned by Fabrice Pastor, a powerful businessman from the Principality of Monaco.
In 2019 and at 24 years old, When he already knew about the investigation, he made the decision to leave tennis. At that time he said: “I had a beautiful memory; it was an incredible part. I was able to travel all over the world, I was able to achieve very good results. I am happy with my career: I came to be in competition with the Chilean Nicolás Jarry, with (Juan Ignacio) Londero, with (Diego) Schwartzman. I even trained with (Juan Martín) Del Potro and with Monaco; I faced Horacio Zeballos in doubles. Today my thing is paddle tennis.”
The Olavarriense lives in Mexico, He plays backhand and has been partnering for a few weeks with the Uruguayan Diego Ramos, 39 years old and currently 8th in the A1 Padel rankings. They call him “Crazy”: He gets hot, suddenly he takes illogical shots but he has talent, count in the world of blades. Until last month she was part of the duo with Juan Ignacio De Pascual, one of the great jewels of Argentine padel -4th in the world in A1 and 233rd in Premier Padel-.
Together with the 19-year-old young man from Pergamino, he performed for the last time last April: together they sought classification to the Premier Padel P1 in Mar del Plata -from May 20 to 26-, the most relevant tournament in the country, and they were at the gates. They had already achieved a great result: this year they reached the semifinals of the A1 Padel Master and fell with Maximiliano Arce and Franco Dal Bianco, the number one on the circuit.
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