"Brilliant, f*** Alexander Zverev & the silence around it" - Fans react to German being heckled about domestic abuse allegations at Australian Open

Alexander Zverev was heckled by a female fan just as he was to begin his post-match speech after his loss to Jannik Sinner in the 2025 Australian Open men's singles final. The fan brought up the controversial domestic abuse allegations made against Zverev by two of his former partners. Later, several fans voiced their support online for the one who heckled the German.

With the Rod Laver Arena crowd in almost complete silence awaiting the World No. 2's runner-up speech, the female fan shouted:

"Australia believes Olya and Brenda! Australia believes Olya and Brenda!"

Many tennis fans across X and Reddit supported the fan for bringing up the names of Olga Sharypova (nicknamed Olya) and Brenda Patea, the two former partners of Alexander Zverev who had made the domestic abuse allegations against him. Sharypova's allegations were compiled and published across two controversial articles by tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg.

"I hope that someone clips that. Brilliant. F*** Zverev & the silence around it," a fan wrote.

"This AO was saved by the right people winning in the finals, and with this iconic moment sticking it to the tennis establishment protecting and elevating abusers," commented another.

"Someone needs to keep an eye on his current girlfriend in the next couple of days to ensure her safety," another chimed in.

Here are more reactions from fans who backed the female spectator for heckling Zverev.

"Olga came forward in 2020. Brenda came forward in 2023. ALL these years and this is the first time he’s been openly called out on it by ANYONE in this World. Absolutely love to see that," wrote one fan.

"What a hero. I couldn't hear a thing she said live though. Here's hoping DVerev heard," another added.

"Good. The tennis world has done their best to acknowledge the allegations absolutely zero times so the larger casual fan public doesn’t even know. He needs to squirm occasionally at the very least and maybe lose a few fans who look into it," yet another fan weighed in.

While Olga Sharypova did not press formal charges against Alexander Zverev, Brenda Patea did. Patea's allegations were heard in a Berlin court last year when the German was participating at the 2024 French Open. The case was ultimately settled out of court.

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"She was the only one in the stadium who believed anything" - Alexander Zverev on being heckled after Australian Open final loss

Alexander Zverev (Source: Getty)

Alexander Zverev spoke in his defense about the heckling incident during his post-match press conference. The German made it clear that he has put the allegations behind him and doesn't want to talk about them.

"I believe there are no more accusations. There haven't been for, what, nine months now. Good for her. I think she was the only one in the stadium who believed anything in that moment. If that's the case, good for her. I think I've done everything I can, and I'm not about to open that subject again," Alexander Zverev said.

Ben Rothenberg, who controversially made Olga Sharypova's allegations public via his articles, is currently embroiled in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by Zverev. Rothenberg also followed up on the fan who heckled the German at the 2025 Australian Open, revealing disturbing details.

On the tennis front, the World No. 2 has lost all three Grand Slam finals he has played in. His first Major final came at the 2020 US Open. On that occasion, he surprisingly lost to Dominic Thiem, having been two sets up and serving for the match at one point in the third set.

His next Grand Slam final appearance came at last year's French Open. This time, he came up second-best against Carlos Alcaraz.