Sports

Quentin Folliot at the Iris-Lambersart Open tennis tournament, in Lambersart, France, November 13, 2022. STEPHANE MORTAGNE / PHOTOPQR/« VOIX DU NORD »/MAXPPP The International Tennis Integrity Agency announced onThursday, December 11, that French tennis player Quentin Folliot has been suspended for 20 years and fined $70,000 for match-fixing. The ITIA said Folliot has also been ordered to repay "corrupt payments" totaling more than $44,000 for "committing 27 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP)." Folliot's suspension will end in May 2044, "subject to repayment of outstanding fines." Time served under a provisional suspension in May 2024 will be credited against the player's period of ineligibility. During the period of ineligi...

Alice Tubello during the Roland-Garros qualifiers in Paris, May 22, 2024. VICTOR JOLY/PRESSE SPORTS On an August 2024 evening, on the clay courts of Arequipa, Peru, perched 2,300 meters above sea level, Alice Tubello, then ranked 219th in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), lost after three hours of a fierce battle, in a third-set tie-break, against a local player with no global ranking but well-versed in extreme conditions. Still reeling from the effort, the 23-year-old Frenchwoman collapsed onto a bench and let her tears flow. When she instinctively turned on her phone to book her return flight to France, the device started to vibrate incessantly. Instagram messages in every language flooded her screen. "Pathetic whore," "I hope your arms get broken," "...

ADRIÀ FRUITÓS On social media, BabylioPronos follows a very particular daily routine. Every day, he posts stories on his Instagram account flaunting bundles of cash, ranging from €50 to €200, spread out across a desk. The aim: to persuade his 146,000 followers to buy VIP access to his services. BabylioPronos, who regularly appears at lavish parties in Bali and Dubai or behind the wheel of luxury cars, is what is known as a "tipster": a specialist selling sports betting advice to other gamblers. Some of these so-called experts share their opinions on upcoming sporting events for free, but many sell monthly subscriptions, dangling the promise of huge profits for those who follow their tips. Navigating this galaxy of influencers and specialized sites...

ADRIÀ FRUITÓS How much to lose a set? And how much to throw a match? When questioned by investigators while in police custody in mid-October, a French tennis player explained he was first approached to lose a match for €500. He flatly refused. But the offer increased: €700, €1,000, €2,000. At €5,000, the player accepted. Ranked outside the top 100 on the ATP Tour, the male professional circuit, he was among the three French tennis players charged on October 18 in a match-fixing case that continues to grow in scope. So far, Marseille prosecutors have confirmed that seven people, including players, former players, accomplices and intermediaries, have been charged with organized fraud, corruption of a participant in a sporting event, participation in a criminal...

Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique and Warren Zaïre-Emery during a match in Paris, November 4, 2025. THIBAULT CAMUS / AP At the PSG Campus in Poissy, near Paris, there are brand-new buildings, 17 immaculate training pitches – pristine even in November's winter weather – and all the perks you'd expect from a European champion, made possible by a €350 million investment. And then there is the staircase, seemingly ordinary but symbolically far more significant, that splits the facility into two distinct worlds: On one side, the professional players; on the other, those who hope to become them. Along the steps, plaques commemorate the names of 142 players who came through the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) youth academy since its founding in 1975 before making i...

South Africa face New Zealand in a scrum in the final of the Rugby World Cup 2023, in Paris, October 28, 2023. GONZALO FUENTES / REUTERS Hosts Australia face a blockbuster group clash with New Zealand at the 2027 Rugby World Cup as holders South Africa were pitted with Italy in the draw in Sydney on Wednesday, December 3. The four-time champion Springboks will also play Georgia and Romania in Pool B at the six-week global showpiece from October 1-November 13 featuring a bumper 24 teams and 52 games. Rassie Erasmus' all-conquering side are favorites to win a third straight title after an exceptional 2025. They completed an Autumn Nations Series clean sweep after retaining their Rugby Championship crown, taking an eight-match u...

Léon Marchand during the final of the 400 m individual medley at the World Championships in Singapore, August 3, 2025. FRANCOIS-XAVIER MARIT / AFP In Lublin, Poland or Austin, Texas, the spotlight will swing between east and west this week for the performance analysts at the French Swimming Federation (FFN). While the French national team competes at the European Short Course Championships in Poland, Léon Marchand will return to racing on Thursday, December 4, at the long-course US Open in the Texas city where he has lived since April. This is the reality of French swimming today. Its biggest star, the four-time Olympic champion from the Paris 2024 Games, has spent several years training in the United States under American coach Bob Bowman, and often follow...

Nice's forward Mohamed-Ali Cho and defender Antoine Mendy (R) celebrate their team's first goal during the French L1 football match between FC Lorient and OGC Nice at the Stade du Moustoir in Lorient, western France on November 30, 2025. DAMIEN MEYER / AFP The Nice prosecutor on Tuesday, December 2, announced the opening of an investigation into aggravated assault after a confrontation between the Nice squad and the club's own supporters. Nearly 200 Nice ultras gathered outside the team's training center on Sunday to vent their anger at the players and coaching staff after a 3-1 defeat at Lorient in Ligue 1 earlier in the day. Two players subsequently lodged complaints with the police. The players told officers that when they...

Monaco's French midfielder number 8 Paul Pogba (C) runs next to Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian defender number 5 Marquinhos (2L) during the French L1 football match between AS Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the Stade Louis II in the Principality of Monaco on November 29, 2025. VALERY HACHE / AFP Japan's Takumi Minamino scored the only goal of the game as Monaco shocked reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 on Saturday, November 29, winning 1-0 in the principality. The 30-year-old Japanese international star, once of Liverpool, struck just past the midway point in the second half at the Stade Louis II to inflict a second domestic defeat of the campaign on PSG. Monaco held on through the closing stages, in...

Nicola Pietrangeli during the Davis Cup final between Italy and Spain in Milan, July 25, 1959. AFP Decades before Jannik Sinner, Nicola Pietrangeli was the darling of Italian tennis. The son of an Italian father who had emigrated to Tunis (then under French protectorate) and a Russian noblewoman who had fled the October Revolution, Pietrangeli, the first Italian tennis player to win a Grand Slam tournament, died at the age of 92, Italy's tennis federation announced on Monday, December 1. With Pietrangeli's death, Italian sports is mourning one of the country's greatest champions. He embodied Italy, not only through his record of achievements, but also his style, his charm and the refinement of his game. "He was the only one (…) over the fortnight to show a ...