Alexander Zverev has been the most outstanding German player in the last five years. The 26-year-old rose to fame after winning the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo and has since won five ATP Masters titles and reached one Grand Slam final. This season, Zverev won the Chengdu Open and the Hamburg title but the tennis player’s domestic issues have caught fans in denial.
The world no. 9 has reportedly been fined €450,000 ($475,834) by a German court after being issued a penalty order for an abuse claim made by ex-girlfriend Brenda Patea originating from a May 2020 incident.
Alexander Zverev’s court presence raises concerns
Alexander Zverev, who notched up 50 wins of the season last month before losing to Andrey Rublev 1-6, 7-6, 3-6 in the quarterfinals of the Vienna Open, was at the Paris Masters event, where he won against Marton Fucsovics 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 to reach the 2nd round in Paris, a massive win for his Turin hopes.
Notwithstanding, the German had already been fined €450,000 by a German court minutes before his victory against Fucsovics in the opening rounds of the Paris Masters and that made tennis fans angry, questioning his actions and why the ATP allowed him.
A fan reacted on X formerly known as Twitter: “Wild, that Alexander Zverev will walk on court tomorrow to play a match on the ATP Tour as if nothing’s happened.”
Another fan wrote, “We all know he did it. Baffled he’s still allowed to play on the tour.”
Alexander Zverev, the Olympic gold medalist, is in a qualifying position at No. 7 in the race to Turin and had to rally around to beat Marton Fucsovics in a two-hour and 38-minute contest. The German currently holds a 250-point lead over Holger Rune, the No. 8 player in the race and has improved his record to 11-5 lifetime at this event, having previously contested the 2020 final and advancing to the semifinals in 2021.
World No. 9 Zverev fined by court in Germany
The Tokyo tennis gold champion Alexander Zverev has been issued a penalty order for bodily harm against his ex-girlfriend Brenda Patea and fines totaling €450,000 ($475,834) by a court in Germany. The Spokesperson for the Berlin criminal court revealed to the Guardian that Zverev is accused of physically abusing and damaging Brenda’s health in May 2020
He added that the Tiergarten district court has fined Zverev 90 daily rates of €5,000, totaling €450,000 and that the German star denies the charge and has lodged an objection against the order. In July, Alexander Zverev addressed the public about the potential penalty order. “From my side: I completely reject the allegations. My lawyers are taking care of the matter. I won’t say anything more about it.”
In a statement by Alexander Zverev’s lawyers, Schertz Bergmann, admitting that he had contest the penalty order, “The procedure is scandalous; there can be no question of a fair, constitutional procedure. Mr Zverev will take action against this using all means possible.”
A public trial is likely to be scheduled and Zverev retains the presumption of innocence before the trial. Additionally, Brenda Patea has joined the Berlin public prosecutor as a co-plaintiff and that may probably see the tennis player serve a heavier judgment if the case goes against him.
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