Dokic’s decision to address the issue on Thursday was entirely of his own making. This served as a message that the sport has been dragging its feet, instead of finalizing a code that would address this Zverev situation.
When news of his upcoming trial was made public, the ATP said Telegraph sport: “We are aware of the upcoming legal trial involving Alexander Zverev and will not make any comment until this process is complete.” From a legal perspective, they find themselves in a tricky situation, as they have failed to introduce guidelines that would give them the power to ban a player from competing on such grounds.
Allegations of domestic violence have followed Zverev for almost four years. First, Olya Sharypova, a former Russian player and girlfriend, alleged that Zverev physically and emotionally abused her during their relationship, including claiming that he punched her in the face during the 2019 ATP Masters in Shanghai. Her allegations were published by Russian media in 2020 and later by Slate magazine, although she did not take any legal action against Zverev who called her allegations “false”.
At the time Andy Murray, among others, called on the ATP to implement a policy against domestic violence. The ATP has repeatedly said it is in the process of proposing one, but, more than three years later, it has yet to come to fruition.
The sport is not known for being proactive in addressing gender-based violence issues, but the ATP doesn’t have to look far to find domestic violence policies that exist in different leagues. The NFL is receiving the most media attention, after a number of players were accused of assault or violent behavior off the field. Their policy now allows the league to put players on paid leave if they are officially charged with a felony or crime of violence. Players may also be subject to disciplinary action even if they are not legally convicted of any crime, as evidence found by the NFL’s internal investigations may be enough to prove that their policies were not followed.
The men’s tennis circuit still does not have such rules. It took almost a year after Sharypova first made her allegations public for the ATP to order an investigation, in late 2021. It took 15 months, and in January 2023 it found “insufficient evidence to substantiate published allegations of abuse.” Zverev cooperated fully with the investigation – even handing over the phone records – but, importantly, he was free to play throughout.
During this period he failed to reach the final of a major tournament, but made four semi-finals in the last three seasons. It’s no surprise that he’s now on his fifth, and two wins away from the biggest title of his career.
He will do so while facing formal legal proceedings regarding a second batch of allegations from Brenda Patea, his former girlfriend and mother of his daughter. She alleges he strangled her during an argument in 2020. She reported the event to police in October 2021, and a German judge found enough evidence to issue Zverev with a sanction order in November 2023 with a fine of €450,000.
Zverev called the sanction order “complete bull—-” and the upcoming trial is the result of his appeal of that decision. His case will play out over 10 days in court, starting in May and overlapping both the French Open and Wimbledon. Although he is not required to be present in Berlin for the trial, it is possible that Zverev could participate in the next two major tournaments while a trial rages in the background.
