When Alexander Zverev debuted at Roland Garros on May 27, not only Rafael Nadal’s game was on his mind. No matter how much the German has avoided the topic in press conferences and interviews, it is impossible that the trial against him for domestic violence, which was soon to begin, was not a recurring thought in the brand new champion of the Rome Masters 1000.
The accusation came from his ex-partner and mother of his son, Brenda Pattea, who reported that the tennis player had tried to suffocate her after an argument in May 2020. Four years after that, the process reached a public trial that began this 31 May and lasted until June 6. Basically, throughout her participation in the French Open, which allowed her to reach her second Grand Slam final.
But the truth is that this case had been going on for a long time before it landed in Paris, since the trial was held because at the beginning of the year, Zverev and his lawyers rejected an initial sanction of $490,000 filed by a Court in Berlin.
This Thursday, after eight days of hearings, the process came to an end with an out-of-court agreement. The local press details that the tennis player, who is playing in the Roland Garros final this Sunday, must pay a fine of 215,000 dollars, of which 160,000 will go to the State coffers and 65,000 to a charitable fund. An agreement that he accepts without being found guilty or having admitted guilt of what he is accused of. Zverev also did not provide testimony at any time, since he was competing in Paris.
Although it is the first time that the US Open finalist went to trial for domestic violence, in the past he had already experienced a similar situation with another of his ex-partners.
This is also the tennis player, Olya Sharypova, who at the end of 2021 accused that Sascha had mistreated her in 2019, during the Shanghai Masters 1000. Those complaints did not reach the ordinary justice system, but they did provoke an internal investigation by the ATP that lasted 15 months and that ultimately found no “sufficient evidence to prove a crime”.
That process ended in January 2023 and he was always emphatic that he did not commit any of the actions he was accused of. Sharypova, for his part, never referred to the issue publicly again.
In January 2024, the accusations against Zverev were experiencing one of the most tense moments. The announcement of this new trial and the start of the Australian Open mixed together to create a few weeks in which the entire tennis world was talking about the case. For this reason, while the first Grand Slam of the year was played, questions against the player were recurrent.
“Some journalists are more interested in getting clicks with their stories about this than in the truth.“, he launched at his first press conference in Melbourne, after being repeatedly consulted about Brenda Pattea’s accusation.
His colleagues were also asked about Zverev’s role on the ATP Player Council while he was also on trial for domestic violence. “There is no easy answer, but I think it is up to the ATP what they decide. It sure isn’t good for a player facing charges like this to be promoted.“, the world number one, Iga Swiatek, even said.
After qualifying for the final of the French Open, the German was asked about the end of the trial against him, a topic to which he responded without problems.
“I said it from the beginning of the tournament, I told everyone. I’m happy it’s all over, I have nothing more to add., that’s all. Four years have passed, it’s over, I’m happy,” she commented.
Of course, the conference took a more tense tone when Zverev was asked about the way in which the trial was ended, since it was never confirmed whether he was guilty or innocent. The German was forceful: “A case is never abandoned when you are guilty, this is what you have to know. That’s it, Let’s move on, I never want to hear a question about this topic again.“That’s for you,” he concluded.
