"Play this when Alexander Zverev is on court" - Fans react as multiple players participate in domestic violence 'boo' campaign at Madrid Open

Tennis fans recently reacted to Alexander Zverev's absence from the 2025 Madrid Open's domestic violence awareness "boo" campaign, which featured several ATP and WTA players. The clay court tournament will take place from April 22 to May 4, 2025, at the Caja Magica in Manzanares Park, Spain.

In the promotional video for the campaign, players such as Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Maria Sakkari, Coco Gauff, Andrey Rublev, and others were seen participating.

Madrid Open's domestic violence 'boo' campaign with several ATP/WTA players byu/jovanmilic97 intennis

However what caught the attention of many was the noticeable absence of Alexander Zverev from the video. The German has faced allegations of domestic violence and physical abuse towards his ex-partner and mother of his daughter, Brenda Patea, in 2020.

Although Patea filed a case against the World No.2, the legal proceedings were eventually settled. Prior to Patea, another former partner of Zverev, Olya Sharypova, had also accused him of abusing her.

The exclusion of Alexander Zverev from the promotional video of the Madrid Open's domestic violence awareness campaign drew various reactions from tennis fans, who took to social media to voice their opinions

One fan mentioned that they would like the campaign video to be played during the changeover in Alexander Zverev's matches.

"Please God let them play this during changeovers when Zverev is on court," a fan posted.

Another fan pointed out the irony of the Madrid Open promoting such a campaign while having Zverev as their top seed in the men's singles event.

"Lol Madrid, do you know who your top seed is?" a fan wrote.

"I know Fritz and Medvedev signed up for that so fast 😭😭," a fan posted.

"How do they reconcile this vid with Zverev’s participation??" a fan wrote.

Comment byu/jovanmilic97 from discussion intennis

Here are some other fan reactions:

"So they are encouraging crowds to boo DVerev? That’s wild," a fan posted.

"Zverev mysteriously did not return their call when asked about appearing," a fan wrote.

"Why didn’t they take someone with experience? Like, ummm, Zverev," a fan posted.

Comment byu/jovanmilic97 from discussion intennis

Before commencing his campaign at the 2025 Madrid Open, Zverev participated at the BMW Open in Munich where he defeated Ben Shelton in the final to claim the title.

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Who will Alexander Zverev face in his opening match at Madrid Open 2025?

Alexander Zverev at the 2024 Madrid Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

Following his title win at the 2025 BMW Open in Munich, Alexander Zverev will next begin his campaign at the Madrid Open.

Zverev is the top seed at the tournament and will begin his run at the tournament in the second round after receiving a first-round bye . He will go up against the winner of the first-round clash between Spaniards Roberto Bautista Agut or Jaume Munar in his opening match.

Alexander Zverev and Bautista Agut have faced each other seven times on the ATP Tour, with the German emerging victorious in five of those encounters. Their most recent clash took place in the second round of the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters, where the World No.2 triumphed with a score of 6-4, 6-4.

On the other hand, Zverev and Jaume Munar have competed against each other twice on the ATP Tour, with each player claiming a victory. Their most recent encounter was in the first round of the 2024 Paris Olympics, with Zverev prevailing with a score of 6-2, 6-2.

Alexander Zverev has previously clinched the Madrid Open title twice in his career - first in 2018 by defeating Dominic Thiem in the final, and then again in 2021 by overcoming Matteo Berrettini in the championship match.