Alexander Zverev is finally a grand slam champion, but his continued place at the top of the tennis world comes with controversy, due to the domestic violence accusations made against him by two former partners.
The German defeated Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in five sets at Roland Garros on Sunday to claim his first grand slam title after falling at the final hurdle three times previously.
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One of those occasions was to Carlos Alcaraz after leading two sets to one in Paris two years ago.
That defeat came two days after Zverev settled a case relating to domestic abuse charges brought by his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child, Brenda Patea, out of court.
“The decision is not a verdict and it is not a decision about guilt or innocence,” Tiergarten District Court spokesperson Inga Wahlen told The Athletic in 2024.
“One decisive factor for the court decision was that the witness has expressed her wish to end the trial. The defendant agreed to the termination of the case.”
After the trial was taken behind closed doors, it ended under a unique German court system ruling. Similar to a settlement, it saw Zverev maintain his presumption of innocence but no ruling of guilt or innocence was officially made, and he paid a €200,000 ‘financial stipulation’ to the state.
Zverev would not have had to pay if a judge had formally declared him not guilty. Instead the process was discontinued before a ruling could be made.
Zverev had repeatedly denied the accusations, and his defence attorneys, Dr. Anna Sophie Heuchemer and Katharina Dierlamm, issued a statement following the decision: “The discontinuation does not constitute a finding of guilt or an admission of guilt. The legal presumption of innocence remains unaffected.”
On the same day, Zverev defeated Casper Ruud in a semi-final at Roland Garros.
In his post-match press conference, he addressed the settling of the case by saying: “They’re not going to drop the case if you’re guilty at the end of the day.
“Done. We move on. I never ever want to hear another question about the subject again.”
With such history, it is why many tennis people were feeling uncomfortable before, during and after Sunday’s final.
“Not planning on watching today’s match, obviously,” tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg wrote on social media.
“Thinking of everyone who remains affected by the issue of domestic violence and who also can’t watch today.”
The world No.3 maintains his innocence and has consistently denied all accusations made against him throughout a lengthy legal process.
But with accusations hovering over the German’s head, they returned to the spotlight when a heckler interrupted Zverev during the trophy presentation after losing the 2025 Australian Open final to Jannik Sinner.
Before Zverev could speak while accepting the runner-up trophy, a woman yelled: “Australia Believes Olya and Brenda! Australia Believes Olya and Brenda!”
The fan, Nina, was ejected from Melbourne Park with Australian Open boss Craig Tiley later saying on radio she “ruined” the moment.
This reaction was then cited by a reporter following Zverev’s quarter-final win over Learner Tien.
“Compared to previous years, at the Rod Laver Arena it feels very different. The focus is on your serve, a lot of crowd support, rather than attention on your personal life. Do you feel different this year?” Zverev was asked.
He replied: “I think this question is not worth asking anymore.”
Fans like ‘Nina’ disagree.
“I’ve been pretty livid ever since (the accusations emerged) that Sascha (Zverev’s nickname) has been able to go about his business and be celebrated and cheered on world stages,” she told Bounces after the final last year.
“Part of me has wondered whether that’s because the majority of people truly don’t care about victims’ voices and well-being.”
Her comments last year were in reference to Zverev’s two former partners who accused him of domestic violence.
The mother of Zverev’s child, Brenda Patea, took him to court with a prosecutor alleging the world No.3 pushed her against a wall and strangled her with both hands following a “heated argument”.
Another partner, Olya Sharypova, made similar allegations of violence through the media but did not go to the police.
A lengthy investigation by the ATP found insufficient evidence to support the claims, though the report was never released publicly.
After the 2025 Australian Open final, Zverev was asked about being heckled in his press conference.
“I believe there are no more accusations. There haven’t been for, what, nine months now?” Zverev said.
“Good for her. I think she was the only one in the stadium who believed anything in that moment. If that’s the case, good for her.
“I think I’ve done everything I can, and I’m not about to open that subject again.”
The ATP’s handling of Zverev’s saga, along with accusations made towards fellow male players Thiago Seyboth Wild and Nikoloz Basilashvili, resulted in the launch of a new Safeguarding program which “introduces a clear, global framework for preventing and responding to abuse, including cases of harassment, bullying, domestic violence and other forms of misconduct”.
It includes a code of conduct, a designated safeguarding officer at every ATP and Challenger tournament, new reporting channels, and an independent advisory panel along with an independent external appeals process.
It remains to be seen whether the program will more quickly resolve these types of issues, and Zverev made his frustrations with the saga clear throughout.
“I told you so from the start. I told everybody,” Zverev said in response to he and Patea settling.
“I’m happy that it’s over. Yeah, nothing else more to say. That’s it. Four years. I’m happy about that.”