After Alexander Zverev finally won his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, he revealed that his long overdue career defining triumph was personally and privately congratulated by an array of elite tennis figures including Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, among many others. However one notable name declined to offer any support to Zverev in his grand moment… Roger Federer.
This may come as a surprise to the tennis world because the duo did a very lucrative South American exhibition tour together, which raked in millions. Zverev has also played in Federer’s exhibition event Laver Cup. Zverev and Federer have also played seven times on the ATP World Tour, with the Russian German winning the head to head series 4-3.
So though they do have history together, evidently there is no friendship. Or perhaps, the Zverev and Federer relationship has turned bitter. Because at one time Federer’s group Team 8 managed Zverev’s career until January 2021.
In October 2020, Zverev’s ex-girlfriend revealed in an article in Racquet magazine by journalist Ben Rothenberg, that Zverev physically and emotionally abused her over the course of their relationship.
Then a second article by Rothenberg about the accusations was released in August 2021, this time in a different magazine called Slate. Curious that Racquet did not want to be a part of the story any longer. The second article – ten months later – picked up Sharypova’s story where the first left off. It included details of the alleged violence escalating in October 2019.
Sharypova never contacted police and there is no police report of any alleged incident. The whole story sounds like a possible smear campaign designed to sabotage Zverev’s career. Was Team 8 involved in the sabotage? Nobody knows for sure but as we know by now… Sports can be stranger than fiction.
Notes: Following a 15-month ATP-commissioned investigation conducted by The Lake Forest Group (a third-party consultant working with the ATP’s outside legal counsel, Smith Hulsey & Busey), the ATP announced in late January 2023 that they will not punish Zverev due to insufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations.
About six months after the ATP declined to take action against Zverev, in July 2023, allegations from a second woman Brenda Patea became public through a court filing. A penalty order in a Berlin criminal court was requested over alleged bodily harm against Patea, Zverev’s ex-girlfriend and the mother of his daughter.
On June 7, 2024, the trial was terminated when the judge dropped all charges, since a settlement had been reached out-of-court and both parties had resolved their dispute. Zverev and Patea, no longer together, wanted to end their public feud and “look forward”, especially regarding the joint custody of their child. Zverev agreed to voluntarily pay €200,000, of which €150,000 would go to the German State Treasury and €50,000 to charitable organizations. The settlement did not include any admission of guilt by Zverev, and the legal procedure concluded without any criminal record. The original €450,000 penalty order which had been issued to Zverev was also terminated.
Alexander Zverev · Roger Federer