ATP finds insufficient evidence to substantiate abuse allegations against Zverev

The German had been accused of domestic abuse by his former girlfriend Olga Sharypova in 2020

Alexander Zverev at the press conference of ImproVR at the ISPO on November 28, 2022 in Munich, Germany. Image Credit: Zuma / Panoramic

Haresh Ramchandani

January 31, 2023

The ATP Tour has said that an independent investigation into allegations of domestic abuse by Alexander Zverev found insufficient evidence to substantiate thosee allegations and hence no disciplinary action will be taken against the 25-year-old German tennis player.

The investigation centred around allegations of domestic abuse against Zverev by his former girlfriend, Olya Sharypova, which first surfaced in 2020,

Sharypova alleged that Zverev abused her at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai in 2019 and also at the Laver Cup event the same year.

The investigation was carried out by The Lake Forest Group (LFG), a third-party investigator, that also looked into ‘purported misconduct in Monaco and New York’.

According to the ATP statement LEFG conducted extensive interviews with both the involved parties as well as several family members and friends on both sides.

The statement said, “Based on a lack of reliable evidence and eyewitness reports, in addition to conflicting statements by Sharypova, Zverev and other interviewees, the investigation was unable to substantiate the allegations of abuse, or determine that violations of ATP’s On-Site Offenses or Player Major Offenses rules took place. As a result, no disciplinary action against Zverev will be taken by ATP. This determination may however be reevaluated should new evidence come to light, or should any legal proceedings reveal violations of ATP rules.”

Zverev, who returned to the tour in January following a seven-month injury lay-off and is now ranked No 14 in the world, has consistently denied the allegations since they surfaced more than two years ago.

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