Dutch coach Max Wenders, known for working with a number of WTA players, has been banned from tennis for 12 years after admitting multiple match fixing charges.
The 26-year-old Wenders got in the spotlight last year, when the 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin made public their relationship. At the time he was her coach, as she had stopped working with her father Alexander.
After publicly saying “I love you” to Wenders through an Instagram story, Kenin has been largely silent about this seemingly unstable relationship which has apparently ended so far. In November 2021, Kenin announced that “after a very bumpy road” in her life her dad was back in her coaching team.
Early into his tennis career, Wenders realized that he didn’t have enough financial means to become a professional, but his presence on the WTA Tour was quite prominent, as besides working with Kenin, he was also a hitting partner for 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, assistant coach of Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit, coach of Demi Schuurs, etc.
The sanction means that Wenders is prohibited from playing in, coaching at or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the governing bodies of tennis for a period of 12 years from the date of the decision (28 April 2021).
