"Incredibly depressing", "As good as admission of guilt" - Fans stumped by Alexander Zverev's domestic abuse trial ending with out-of-court settlement

Alexander Zverev's domestic abuse trial has come to an end after an out-of-court settlement was reached by the German and his ex-girlfriend Brenda Patea. The World No. 4 agreed to pay €200,000 for the case to be dropped, with €150,000 going to the German treasury and €50,000 going to charity. Tennis fans reacted to the development amid Zverev's ongoing French Open run.

The trial initially began as a public one on Friday, May 31, a result of Zverev appealing against the €450,000 fine levied as part of the penalty order given to him by Berlin's Tiergarten District Court. However, Zverev's legal defense team brought an early end to public proceedings on day one, requesting the court to proceed with the rest of the trial in private, which was later accepted.

The court then issued a statement confirming the end of the trial. Part of the statement reads (via BBC):

"There has been a settlement between the defendant and the complainant. This settlement is not part of this trial though and the court is not part of this settlement."

Jonathan Crane, a DW News and DW Sports journalist, also confirmed the development on X.

"BREAKING: Germany's top tennis player Alexander Zverev has settled his assault case with his ex-girlfriend. He was accused of strangling her at a Berlin apartment in May 2020. The two sides have now reached an out-of-court settlement. There's no admission of guilt by Zverev."

Many tennis fans on X were left stumped by the conclusion of the trial in such a manner. One section of fans was disappointed with how it all ended, as the settlement does not clarify if Zverev was actually innocent or guilty of the domestic abuse charges brought against him.

"Just an incredibly depressing outcome. No real answers, meaning that Zverev walks away from this whole ordeal facing 0 consequences, and tennis will continue to promote him as their golden boy. I'm sure the ATP are massively relieved, but many tennis fans won't ever be," one fan wrote.

"This is as good as an admission of guilt, hope we all understand this," another fan commented.

"If the point was to appeal to clear his name because he was so innocent, why bother settling out of court????" a fan asked.

Another set of fans talked about Zverev playing at the French Open and how that may have influenced the turn that the case finally took. The German is set to face two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud in this year's semifinal on Friday, June 7.

"His possible imminent French Open final had nothing to do with this timing of course..," one fan wrote.

"Zverev be like: “Let’s be done with it. I’m gonna earn more through my prize money in French Open this week anyway,"" another fan commented.

"Just so we’re all clear on this, a guy who just agreed to a monetary payment in a domestic violence case is playing in a semi-final of a grand slam today, and some people are positioning that as a win," a third fan opined.

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"There's no reason to stop me from playing at the French Open" - Alexander Zverev after quarterfinal win over Alex de Minaur

Alexander Zverev at a press conference

After winning his French Open quarterfinal encounter against Alex de Minaur on Wednesday, June 5, Zverev had expressed confidence regarding the direction in which the domestic abuse trial had been going during a press conference at the tournament.

"No, they made it very clear to me from the beginning that I wouldn't have to be there. I think everything is going in the right direction. Everything is going great on my part, from my point of view. There's not much more to say."

The World No. 4 was also asked if he was concerned about possibly being barred from participating at the 2024 French Open. However, Zverev responded by saying that the authorities have "no reason" to take such a step.

"No. Why? There's no reason."

The German has reached the French Open semifinals three years in a row, and will be looking to book his place in the final of the clay court Major for the first time in his career as he faces Ruud. Zverev's only previous Grand Slam final appearance has been his summit clash with Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open which he ultimately lost.