French Open star slapped with lifetime ban for match fixing with career as coach or pundit ruled out

A FORMER French Open tennis player has been slapped with a lifetime ban for match fixing.

Alexis Musialek, 35, appeared in the 2018 mixed doubles at Roland Garros alongside nine-time Grand Slam champion Kristina Mladenovic.

However, he has been found guilty of 39 breaches of tennis' anti-corruption laws.

Frenchman Musialek denied the charges and failed to cooperate with the investigation as he withheld evidence.

But now the International Tennis Integrity Agency concluded the breaches were related to nine matches between 2016 and 2018.

The ITIA said Musialek "contrived the outcome of multiple matches, received money, benefit or consideration for contriving the outcome of these matches, and facilitated other players not to use their best efforts".

The former world No255 is understood to be involved in a wider match-fixing scandal which resulted in the leader being jailed for five years.

Musialek is never allowed to compete in any authorised tennis tournaments again.

And his lifetime ban also means any hopes of a future career in player coaching or punditry are also over because he cannot even be on the site of competitions.

Musialek was fined £39,000 - approximately 40 per cent of his £99,000 tennis career earnings.

The former player, who lives in Paris, turned professional in 2013.

However, he spent his entire time competing on the ATP Challenger and ATP Futures tours - and failed to make the step up to the main ATP Tour.

He won nine career titles and lost a further 13 finals.

His most recent final was the M15 Marrakech in Morocco in March 2022, two years after his latest tournament victory in Greece.

Musialek's lifetime ban comes three years after Egyptian prodigy Youssef Hossam received the same punishment for 21 rule breaches and betting-related offences.

Two years earlier, Hossam's older brother Karim was also slapped with a lifetime ban from tennis.