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Alexander Zverev will go to criminal trial in a Berlin court in the domestic abuse case levied against him by his ex-partner Brenda Patea, in May 2024.
According to a report by German publication Deutsche Welle, Patea, who is also the mother of Zverev's child, has accused the 26-year-old of causing her bodily harm last year. Subsequently, a Berlin prosecutor levied a €450,000 penalty fine on him in October 2023, and the matter was expected to end up in court. More details about the case are expected soon.
At the same time, the German No. 1 is also facing a domestic abuse allegation from another ex-partner, Olga Sharypova. ATP undertook a lengthy investigation and concluded that there was not enough evidence to substantiate the charges, allowing Zverev to continue playing on the tour.
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Tennis fans were quick to call out the ATP for their perceived inaction on the matter after the Berlin court set the May trial date for Patea's case. They took to social media to slam Netflix for not mentioning these allegations in the recently released tennis docuseries 'Break Point' season 2, where Zverev is featured.
Fans hoped for justice to be delivered quickly and wondered if the German would miss the 2024 Roland Garros due to the May court date. Some also questioned if Zverev can be removed from the ATP Players Council, on which he was recently elected.
"When @atptour closed its begrudging investigation, they said they'd revisit should more come to light (almost as if they already knew it would), yet we've had a subsequent penalty order & now a court date and still nary a peep from the spineless ATP. Continues to lower the bar," a fan comment read.
"Long overdue. Hopefully the truth can come to light instead of this long period of uncertainty around Zverev. If he's found guilty, the amount of favouritism they showed him is going to age very badly," another fan said.
"That Break Point episode looking worse and worse each day," a fan posted on Reddit.
"Finally! Looks like he might have to miss Roland Garros due to the trial," another fan commented.
Here are some more fan reactions to Alexander Zverev's trial date:
Alexander Zverev to compete in 1R at Australian Open
The news of Alexander Zverev's May trial date comes before he begins his campaign at the 2024 Australian Open. He is seeded No. 6 and will play against fellow German Dominik Koepfer in the opening round on Tuesday, January 16.
Zverev will come to Melbourne after leading Germany to victory in the second edition of the United Cup earlier this year. He was the star player for Team Germany and lost just one singles match en route to the title.
Alexander Zverev is not defending many points at the 2024 Australian Open after exiting last year's tournament in the second round. His best performance in Melbourne was reaching the semifinals in 2020.
