Alexander Zverev shouldn’t be allowed to play amid domestic violence cases claims Sports Illustrated’s editor-in-chief

Jon Wertheim gave reasons to not let the German play for now.

Alexander Zverev shouldn’t be allowed to play amid domestic violence cases claims Sports Illustrated’s editor-in-chief

Alexander Zverev (Via Imago)

While German tennis player Alexander Zverev was preparing for his ATP Finals 2023 in Turin, a criminal court in Berlin found the player guilty in the proceedings of the domestic violence complaints that his former girlfriend Brenda Patea had filed against him a few months ago. The court has asked the player to pay a compensation or fine of $500,000.

Although Zverev has denied all allegations and his representatives are looking to challenge the court’s decision soon, many are of the opinion that he should not be allowed to play tennis until the case has been completely closed. 

YouTube video

This is not the first time that one of Zverev’s girlfriends has accused him of domestic violence. His ex-girlfriend Olga Sharypova had said in 2021 that Zverev abused her. She claimed that she cried every day, and the situation was very bad.

FS Video

In fact, there are a lot of similarities in the details that she and Brenda Patea provided, which raises questions about Zverev’s innocence. Especially in the case of Sports Illustrated editor-in-chief Jon Wertheim, who is one of the people who strongly feels that the German should not be allowed to play tennis for the time being. 

In Zverev’s case, two women claimed responsibility for multiple acts of physical violence. There are detailed accounts. The alleged acts occurred over time on multiple continents. There is a certain level of specificity to the allegations. There are photos and testimonies corroborating the allegations. There are significant parallels between the two claims.
Wertheim via We Love Tennis

Jon Wertheim re-iterated that while in Olga Sharypova’s case, the situation did not get so bad for Zverev as she did not file a criminal complaint, Brenda Patea even won the case in court. This should be more of a reason to not let the German play for now. 

He is entitled to dismiss the allegations and have a public trial. But in the meantime, he shouldn't play.

Alexander Zverev failed to qualify for the semifinals of the 2023 ATP Finals 

Zverev’s campaign in the 2023 ATP Finals started off with a bang as he beat Carlos Alcaraz in his very first match of the tournament. Unfortunately, his straight-set loss against Daniil Medvedev in the second match made things very difficult for him.

Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev
Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev (Source: Tennis365)

The format of the ATP Finals is such that even a small mistake in a single match could lead to a player not qualifying to the semis and that is exactly what happened with Alexander Zverev. 

After his loss against Medvedev, Zverev needed Carlos Alcaraz to lose against the Russian in his last match too for him to qualify for the semis besides himself defeating Andrey Rublev. While Zverev did his part of beating Andrey Rublev, Alcaraz did a fabulous job in the match against Daniil Medvedev and emerged victorious. This is how Zverev lost his place in the semis to the Spanish ace. 

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