The men’s professional tennis tour will not be charging Alexander Zverev, the German star, with any punishment or fine with regard to the allegations that he assaulted his girlfriend in 2019. Although this verdict was expected many months ago, it was making its way in the courts and newsrooms aplenty with Zverev’s professional career taking a major hit.
The investigation lasted 15 months and after thorough scrutiny, the ATP have come to conclusion that whatever evidences they had against the German player will not be enough to substantiate the allegations, thus giving them no jurisdiction to hold him accountable. No disciplinary acton was announced against the player.
The ATP commissioned this investigation after Zverev’s former girlfriend Olya Sharypova, a Russian former tennis player, mentioned that the tennis star repeatedly abused her during confrontations in New York, Shanghai, Monaco and Geneva and was not respectful to her during the course of their relationship.
The investigation was taken up and conducted by The Lake Forest Group, a third-party consultant who are with the ATP’s outside legal counsel, the Florida-based firm Smith Hulsey & Busey. The ATP issued a news release stating that no action will be taken against Zverev but did not publish a full report about the incident.
Both Zverev and Sharypova had cooperated with the investigation, which included extensive interviews with them, as well as family members, friends and other tennis players. Investigators also took into accounts multiple text messages, audio files and photos, some of which came from a forensic analysis of Zverev’s phone. Sharypova did not file criminal charges against Zverev.
“From the beginning, I have maintained my innocence and denied the baseless allegations made against me,” Zverev said in a statement Tuesday. “I welcomed and fully cooperated with the ATP’s investigation and am grateful for the organization’s time and attention in this matter.”
The Olympic gold medalist in men’s singles in 2021 continued to play during the investigation and registered some of his biggest wins during that time, including at the tour’s season-ending ATP Finals. Most recently, he featured in the Australian Open, where he lost in the second round. After the loss, he mentionedhe is yet to regain full fitness.
