“She has been released, her custody has been lifted,” Frederic Belot told Reuters.
Russian player Yana Sizikova has been arrested at the French Open and has been placed into custody, a police source told Reuters on Friday.
The French tennis federation (FFT) confirmed her arrest but said it could not comment further.
Shamil Tarpischev, president of the Russian Tennis Federation, told the RIA news agency that he had been informed of Sizikova’s detention. TASS news agency also reported that the Russian embassy in Paris had been informed of the situation.
Police and a legal source told AFP, the 26-year-old was detained on Thursday night after a match in the ongoing Roland Garros. Sizikova, who is ranked 101st in the women’s doubles rankings, was detained as a part of an investigation into possible corruption and fraud, the source in the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
According to the German newspaper Die Welt, the tennis player has been caught up in an investigation opened last October by the Paris prosecutor’s office for “organized gang fraud” and for “active and passive sports corruption.
Sizikova and her new partner Ekaterina Alexandrova crashed out of the French Open on Thursday after a heavy defeat in the first round of the women’s doubles by Aussie pair Storm Sanders and Ajla Tomljanovic.
Sizikova and Alexandrova were defeated within an hour with scores of 1-6, 1-6.
The match under investigation was played last year. It was between Sizikova and her American partner Madison Brengle against Romanian pair Andreea Mitu and Patricia Maria Tig where the Russian player was defeated.
Reuters / AFP / TASS
Photo Facebook Yana Sizikova
