Polish duo banned after anti-corruption investigation

London: Polish players Piotr Gadomski and Arkadiusz Kocyla have been banned for seven and five years respectively after being found guilty of betting-related offences under the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme.

Both were also fined $15,000.

The 24-year-old Gadomski, ranked 908th in the ATP rankings with earnings this year of $362, was found guilty at a London hearing last month of four charges including "directly or indirectly soliciting or facilitating a player to not use his or her best efforts in an event".

Kocyla, 21, is ranked 898th and has won $552 in prize money in 2015.

He was found guilty on three corruption charges, according to the Tennis Integrity Unit who carried out the investigations on behalf of the Grand Slam Board, the International Tennis Federation, the ATP World Tour and the WTA.

With immediate effect both players are ineligible to participate in or attend any tournament or competition organised or sanctioned by the governing bodies.

Professional tennis players and their entourages have a wide-ranging set of anti-corruption rules to adhere to and are strictly forbidden from any betting activity.

No leading players have ever been found guilty of corruption although several, mainly those way down the rankings where prize money is almost non-existent, have fallen foul of the Integrity Unit since it was formed in 2008.