Alexander Zverev hit with ‘scandalous’ penalty order in domestic violence case
The lawyer of German tennis star Alexander Zverev has issued a strongly-worded statement after a Berlin court ordered him to pay his ex-partner and the mother of his child €450,000 in a long-running domestic violence case.
Bild are reporting that Zverev has been accused of physically abusing Brenda Patea during an argument in Berlin in May 2020, but he has vehemently denied the allegations.
Now it has emerged that Zverev has received a fine of 90 daily rates of €5,000, totalling €450,000, with the tennis star’s lawyers quick to dismiss the verdict in a strongly worded statement.
“The procedure is scandalous,” read the statement. “There be no question of a fair, constitutional procedure. Mr. Zverev rejected the allegations made against him.
“The allegations made by the complainant alone on which the penalty order is based have already been refuted by a forensic medical report from the recognized Berlin forensic doctor Prof. Dr. Tsokos, Charité Berlin.”
Back in June, Zverev publicly commented on the allegations as he said in a press conference: “I completely reject the allegations. My lawyers are taking care of the matter. I won’t say anything more about it.”
This latest judgement in Germany will renew pressure on tennis chiefs to investigate the allegations against Zverev, after they decided against any punishment earlier this year.
Back in January, the ATP announced that they would take no action against Alexander Zverev after a 15-month investigation into allegations of domestic abuse found “insufficient evidence”.
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An independent investigation began in October 2021 which focused on alleged abuse at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai in 2019, as well as other locations including Monaco, New York and Geneva.
However, it was unable to substantiate the allegations and as a result, no disciplinary action will be taken by the ATP, the governing body announced on Tuesday.
ATP chief executive Massimo Calvelli said in a statement: “The seriousness and complexity of these allegations required an extremely thorough investigative process and considerable resources.
“It also required us to turn to specialist investigators, which was new ground for ATP.
“We ultimately believe the exhaustive process was necessary to reach an informed judgement.
“It has also shown the need for us to be more responsive on safeguarding matters. It is the reason we’ve taken steps in that direction, with a lot of important work still ahead.”
In a statement, Zverev said: “From the beginning, I have maintained my innocence and denied the baseless allegations made against me. I welcomed and fully cooperated with the ATP’s investigation and am grateful for the organisation’s time and attention in this matter.
“This decision marks a third, neutral, third-party arbiter who has reviewed all relevant information and made a clear and informed decision on this matter in my favor. In addition to the ATP’s independent investigation, I have also initiated court proceedings in Germany and Russia, both of which I have won.
“I am grateful that this is finally resolved and my priority now is recovering from injury and concentrating on what I love most in this world — tennis.
“I want to thank my friends, family and fans for their ongoing support. We followed the long and difficult process and justice has prevailed.”
Zverev now has a right to contest this penalty order of €450,000 in Berlin, which would lead to a public trial.
