German tennis player Alexander Zverev has finally opened up about the assault allegations leveled against him. As of now, he has denied all the allegations against him. Last week, the news that he had assaulted his ex-partner, Brenda Patea, was brought to light by a German broadcaster.
Zverev made his first statement regarding this issue on Monday. Speaking at the Hamburg European Open, he refuted the assault allegations.
“I completely reject the allegations. My lawyers will take care of the matter,” said Alexander, during a press conference. “I won’t say any more than that.”
Alexander Zverev spoke about the new domestic abuse allegations involving the mother of his child:
“I completely reject the allegations. My lawyers will handle the case. I will say no more.” pic.twitter.com/UUyKYPJfRH
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 24, 2023
The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Berlin had applied for a penalty order against the player. Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) also reported that the Tiergarten District Court received the prosecutor’s application.
Many people do not believe his innocence. One user commented, “I believe the women.” Another user commented along a similar vein, “Where there is smoke, there is fire.”
Common answer from a guilty person.
— Stef (@StefanyPerez) July 25, 2023
Loser on and off the court
— solotrip (@solotripeth) July 25, 2023
RTL broke this news. They reported that Brenda Patea, Zverev’s former partner, and the mother of his child, had filed the application.
Allegations against Alexander Zverev by his former partners
This is the second time that Zverev has found himself involved in a domestic violence case. His former partner, Olga Sharypova, had previously raised charges against him.
Brenda, has accused him of causing “bodily harm” to her. This case is not very different from Sharypova’s, who stated that Zverev tried to smother her with a pillow.
The German had maintained his innocence even then. The ATP, the governing body of tennis, did not have policies pertaining to domestic abuse at the time.
27 months after the initial accusation by Sharypova, the ATP’s investigation reached a conclusion. Zverev was handed a clean chit due to a “lack of insufficient evidence.” But they did add, ““this determination may however be reevaluated should new evidence come to light.”
27 months after the initial October 2020 abuse accusations by Olya Sharypova against Alexander Zverev, the ATP investigation has announced a conclusion.
The investigation ultimately neither confirmed nor refuted Sharypova’s accusations, but rather found “insufficient” evidence: pic.twitter.com/eYhnrWVr4L
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 31, 2023
While Zverev may have slipped through the cracks of the system last time, it looks unlikely this time around. He has also got the moniker ‘abuser’ to contend with. Only time will tell what the ultimate verdict, in this case, will be.