He's in trouble with his ex-girlfriends: Who is Alexander Zverev?

German tennis player of Russian origin Alexander Zverev is an Olympic champion. The player, born in 1997, is ranked 6th in the ATP rankings. He is Germany's number one tennis player and succeeded in winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Zverev, who is heading towards the peak of his career, is in trouble with his ex-girlfriends. First, in 2020, Olga Sharypova claimed that she was subjected to physical and mental violence. Zverev, who strictly denied the allegations, was even able to get a decision to ban Sharypova's allegations from publication. As a result of the investigation carried out by the ATP, no sanctions were imposed on the athlete as there was not enough evidence.

Alexander Zverev (born 20 April 1997) is a German professional tennis player. He has been ranked by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) as high as world No. 2, and is the current world No. 6. Zverev's singles career highlights include a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and titles at the 2018 and the 2021 ATP Finals. He has won 21 ATP Tour titles in singles and two in doubles, and contested a major final at the 2020 US Open.

However, last July, he was accused of domestic violence again, this time by Brenda Patea, the mother of his child. In October 2023, the Tiegarten district court obliged Zverev to pay a fine of 450 thousand euros. Zverev appealed the decision and the trial will begin in May.

Zverev said the following on the subject: "Anyone with an average IQ can understand what this is about." I don't know if I have an average IQ, but from what I understand, Zverev accuses his ex-girlfriends of slandering for money.

Presumption of innocence

This is where the concept of presumption of innocence, which we have forgotten in recent years, especially since the "#metoo" movement has swept the world, comes into play. When other players were asked about Zverev's situation during the Australian Open, they declined to comment. No sanctions have been imposed on Zverev for now. We can say that the outcome of the Kevin Spacey and Johnny Depp cases in their favor is a turning point, because if it had happened a few years ago, it would have been possible for Zverev to be directly expelled from the tournament, all his sponsors to withdraw, to be strongly condemned by other athletes and to end his tennis career.

While trying to achieve justice, a witch hunt was initiated by acting reactively and the presumption of innocence was overturned, creating a situation where people had to prove that they were not guilty. If the accusations against Zverev are true, he should of course be punished. However, the lives of people for whom a trial has not even begun and a final verdict has not been reached should not be made miserable. Let's hope that the world's public opinion once again understands the reason why the eyes of Themis, the statue of justice, are closed.

Career of Alexander Zverev

Zverev won the junior Grand Slam singles title at the 2014 Australian Open. He also made an early breakthrough on the professional tour, becoming one of the youngest Challenger title winners in history at the age of 17. Zverev won two ATP titles as a junior and also upset then-world No. 3 Roger Federer on the court. At 20, he became the youngest player to break into the top 20 since Novak Djokovic. At the Laver Cup, Zverev played a key role in Team Europe's early success in the competition, winning clinching matches in 2018 and 2019.