Key points:
- Castro is a national-level official from the Dominican Republic and chose not to respond to the ITIA’s notice of charge in relation to three matches he oversaw
- Under the 2025 TACP, a Deemed Sanction may be issued to individuals who elect not to respond to the ITIA’s investigations and arbitration process
Following 12 breaches of the Agency’s Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP), the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has suspended official Juan Gabriel Castro for six years and enforced a fine of $6,000.
Castro, a national-level official from the Dominican Republic, has chosen not to respond to the ITIA’s notice of charge, allowing the Agency to impose a Deemed Sanction which may be issued to individuals who elect not to acknowledge the ITIA’s investigations and arbitration process under the 2025 TACP.
The penalties are in direct relation to three matches in which Castro was alleged to have manipulated scoring entry to “contrive the scoreboard” and facilitate corruption. Individuals have 10 business days to appeal the imposition of a Deemed Sanction to an independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer, but Castro decided not to do so.
Time served under provisional suspension is credited against the period of ineligibility, meaning Castro’s suspension is set to conclude on November 6, 2030, as he has been provisionally suspended since November 7, 2024.
Good to know: Ippei Mizuhara received an approximate five-year prison sentence from a federal court in Santa Ana for bank and tax fraud on February 7, also having been ordered to pay $18m in restitution to both Shohei Ohtani and the IRS
During the period of ineligibility, Castro is prohibited from either officiating or attending any tennis event, including those authorized or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA such as the ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, Fédération Française de Tennis, Wimbledon and USTA, or any national association.
The ITIA is an independent body originally established by its tennis members to “promote, encourage, enhance and safeguard” the integrity of its professional tennis events.
