“$50,000 to fix a match”

Argentine Trungellites will enter the world top 100 after reaching the semi-finals of the ATP 250 tournament in Marrakech. Speaking about his career and the great challenges he has faced over the years, he revealed how a few years ago he was lured with a large amount of money just to fix a match. $50,000 was the proposed sum, unimaginable to him at the time.

In 2015, while playing in the lower level circuits, was approached by people involved in match fixing, but chose to report everything, cooperating with the authorities. His testimony later contributed to the investigations and suspension of several Argentine players in 2017-2018, exposing an extensive network.

Marco Trungelliti refused a large sum promised to “slam” a match

But what followed was far from reassuring for the player, who more than a decade later spoke of the experience back then and the great pitfalls of the system, where such prohibited actions are still encouraged.

In a recent interview with L'Équipe, Trungelliti gave a candid explanation of why players might fall into the trap of match-fixing and how he has handled the situation since then. Drawing on his own experience in the lower circuits, he described how constant financial pressure drives players to the point

“If you win €300 for a first-round match and someone comes and offers you €5,000 to fix that match, you'll say no once, twice, three times. But when you go home penniless and see other people doing it, it becomes difficult to say no.

I've been offered up to $50,000 to set up a match. $50,000 for an hour of work. If you start thinking about that, even for a second, you're done as a tennis player. I've never considered it myself, but I see things happening around me.

I have no regrets. It was very clear in my mind. I knew what I had to do from the beginning. Obviously, I'm the exception. But for me to feel really proud, the ATP and ITF should really fight against match-fixing. Maybe one day”, recounted Trungelliti, for the source cited above.

After what happened then he was labeled a “turner”, isolated in the locker room, received death threats and faced financial difficulties, eventually having to leave Argentina for his safety, according to sportskeeda.com.

On the tennis court, Trungelliti recently had a solid run in Marrakech, coming from the qualifiers and continuing with wins against some of the favorites in the main draw. He beat number five seed Kamil Majchrzak before knocking out number three seed Corentin Moutet in the quarterfinals.

Before facing top favorite Luciano Darderi in the semi-finals, Trungelliti secured his place in the ATP 100.