Mathieu Montcourt Receives Reducing Suspension for Betting

French tennis player Mathieu Montcourt‘s suspension for betting on matches has been reduced from eight to five weeks. The Associated Press report that the Court of Arbitration for Sport said Thursday the 24-year-old Montcourt bet a total of $192 on 36 tennis events, though not on his own matches or at tournaments in which he was playing.

The CAS panel cites “the small amounts gambled [and] the absence of influence of the bets on the matches in question.”

The court ordered the 135th-ranked Montcourt to serve a ban of five weeks starting July 6, which would allow him to enter Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. This must be of great relief for Montcourt who doesn’t have any points to defend at Wimbledon or the U.S. Open, so his chances of picking up points and moving even further up the rankings is high.