Domestic abuse allegations against Alexander Zverev: Key dates
Alexander Zverev’s domestic abuse case has been settled out of court. Here’s a look back at some of the key dates over the last four years
Attitude de Alexander Zverev ( Allemagne ) –
The past four years, Alexander Zverev has been embroiled in accusations of abuse and domestic violence from his ex-girlfriend Olga Sharypova. In early June 2024, the case was dismissed after an out-of-court settlement between the two parties. Here’s a look over the timeline of events.
October 28, 2020: Olya Sharypova posts on Instagram to declare herself a victim of domestic abuse. She gives an interview to Russian website Championat later that day in which she accuses Zverev.
October 29, 2020: Zverev posts on Instagram to deny Sharypova’s allegations. “They make me sad,” he writes. “We have known each other since we were children and shared many experiences together. I very much regret that she makes such statements. Because the accusations are simply not true.”
November 4, 2020: Zverev denies the allegations again in a press conference when he arrives at the Rolex Paris Masters: “The accusations are not true and I cannot say anything more.”
November 5, 2020: Journalist Ben Rothenberg interviews Sharypova for Racquet magazine. She goes into more detail about her allegations against Zverev. “It was really hard,” she begins. “He was pretty toxic, telling me terrible things, saying ‘You’re nobody,’ saying, ‘You didn’t earn anything in this life. I’m a successful person, I earn money—but you’re nobody.’”
November 8, 2020: During his speech on the court after his loss in the Rolex Paris Masters final, Zverev says: “I know that there’s gonna be a lot of people that right now are trying to wipe a smile off my face but under this mask I’m smiling brightly.”
November 13, 2020: The ATP publishes a press release in which the body “fully condemns any form of violence or abuse”, without citing Alexander Zverev.
August 25, 2021: Rothenberg publishes a second interview with Sharypova on Slate in which she details more allegations of abuse. Specifically on October 9 and 10 in Shanghai, the Russian was allegedly assaulted while getting out of the shower “more violently than [Zverev] had done before.”
August 27, 2021: Zverev publishes a statement on his Twitter account to deny these new statements. “I categorically and unequivocally deny having abused Olya,” he writes. “I also fully support the creation of an ATP domestic violence policy. I will not address this matter any further”.
October 4, 2021: ATP announces an investigation into the allegations. Zverev issues another blanket denial via social media, and says he is escalating his already-announced legal proceedings.
October 6, 2021: Zverev says he supports the opening of the ATP investigation in order to “wash his name”.
January, 2023: The ATP announced it had completed the investigation and “found insufficient evidence to substantiate published accusations of abuse”.
July, 2023: German media RTL reported that an application for a criminal charge based on the grounds of physical assault were made on behalf of Brenda Patea – the mother of his child – against Alexander Zverev.
October 2, 2023: Zverev was issued with a penalty order by a court in Germany for bodily harm against his ex-girlfriend, with fines totalling €450,000. He appealed the fine and denied the charge.
November 2, 2024: Zverev calls the penalty order against him “complete bulls**t”, declaring, “anybody that has a semi-standard IQ level knows what this is all about.”
May 31, 2024: The appeal trial began. Zverev was not required to be present at the trial, which had the potential to run for eight days between May 31 and June 7 – right when Roland-Garros was occurring.
June 7, 2024: An out-of-court settlement is reached between Zverev, the prosecutor’s office, and Patea. The German was required to pay a €200,000 fine, €150,000 of which goes to the state treasury, and €50,000 to non-profits.
German agency DPA has said of the settlement that the facts remain unclear. However, the main aspect of the settlement in Zverev’s favour is that Patea’s lawyer requested the settlement. Both wanted their reputations to be protected.
“[Patea] welcomed the agreement because otherwise both sides could suffer lasting damage to their reputations and be personally burdened by the legal dispute,” the judge said. “You can imagine how this would have gone on.”
When questioned later that day after defeating Casper Ruud in the Roland-Garros semi-finals, Zverev had this to say on the settlement:
“I told you so from the start. I told everyone. I’m glad it’s over. Nothing else to say. That’s all. Four years [the trial lasted]… I’m happy [that it’s over].”
When questioned about why he didn’t push for an innocent verdict, Zverev responded:
“If a trial is abandoned, it means we are innocent. If you’re guilty, they wouldn’t let you do that. I don’t know what translation you got. That’s it, it’s done, we move on. I don’t want to hear another question on this topic, ever. And that goes for everyone.”
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