"Would have been a national disgrace";"PR didn’t work" - Fans rejoice as Alexander Zverev loses out on being Germany's flagbearer at Paris Olympics

Alexander Zverev has lost out to Dennis Schroder, with the German national basketball team captain being chosen to be one of the flagbearers for Germany at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday, July 26. Zverev was initially nominated for the prestigious role alongside Schroder and shooting ace Christian Weitz. Several tennis fans have reacted positively to the news.

Zverev won the gold medal for Germany in singles at the 2020 Summer Olympics after defeating Karen Khachanov in the final. He has also cemented himself as a regular in the top 10 of the ATP Tour rankings, being ranked as high as World No. 2 formerly. While there is no debating the current World No. 4's on-court prowess, his life has been entirely different off the court.

The 2020 US Open and 2024 French Open finalist has allegedly been guilty of domestic abuse towards two of his former partners. One of them, Brenda Patea, who also happens to be the mother of Zverev's daughter Mayla, decided to press charges against the German last year. Zverev was levied a fine by a Berlin court, but appealed against it, resulting in a much-publicized trial earlier this year.

The trial coincided with the German's 2024 French Open campaign but was eventually settled out-of-court, with Zverev agreeing to pay €200,000 for the trial's dismissal. These off-court controversies have tainted the former World No. 2's image across fan circles.

Recently, it came to light that on the men's side, it was the World Cup-winning national basketball team captain and Brooklyn Nets point guard Dennis Schroder who would be the men's flagbearer for Germany. This delighted the fans who were opposed to the idea of Zverev being handed the role.

One set of fans on X (formerly Twitter) supported Germany for not choosing Zverev to be one of its flagbearers.

"Would have been a national disgrace if Zverev was flagbearer," a fan wrote.

"The one time the PR didn’t work thank God," commented another fan.

"Germany doing the right thing for once," another fan chimed in.

Another set of fans poked fun at the situation.

"Kroos basically did all that d riding for nothing," wrote one fan, referring to soccer legend Toni Kroos endorsing Zverev for the flagbearer role recently.

"Another Zverev L," yet another fan wrote, followed by a GIF.

"They were afraid he would beat Anna-Maria with the flagpole?" a fan asked with a hint of dark humor, referring to the domestic abuse allegations that have overshadowed Zverev's tennis in recent years.

"The funniest thing about this is we know now how badly he wanted it and didn’t get it," another fan weighed in.

"There is nothing bigger than the Olympic Games" - Alexander Zverev after winning gold medal at 2020 Summer Olympics

Alexander Zverev in action at the 2020 Summer Olympics (Source: Getty)

Zverev made history for Germany by becoming the first German tennis player to win Olympic Gold in the men's singles category at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which was shifted to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After his historic achievement, Zverev was asked about his thoughts on playing at the next Grand Slam. However, the German refused to talk about it, saying that nothing else in sport could be compared to the Olympics.

"I don't want to talk about the next Grand Slam because I have just won the Olympic Games - and there is nothing bigger than the Olympic Games. I want to enjoy this one for two minutes," Zverev said (via the BBC).

The World No. 4 is heading into this year's edition of the Olympics on the back of a disappointing defeat to French youngster Arthur Fils in the controversial final of the 2024 Hamburg Open.