Alexander Zverev Called Out for Domestic Violence Allegations During Runner-Up Speech at Australian Open
Alexander Zverev's Australian Open final speech was interrupted by an audience member expressing support for two of his ex-girlfriends, who have accused him of domestic violence.
After losing to Jannik Sinner in the Grand Slam on Sunday, Jan. 26 — his third career Grand Slam loss — the tennis star, 27, stepped onstage to speak at the trophy ceremony, but was quickly cut off by someone shouting in the Melbourne Park crowd, according to reports from BBC Sports, The Athletic and the Associated Press.
'Australia believes Olya and Brenda!' the audience member shouted, referring to Zverev's former partners, Olya Sharapova and Brenda Patea, The Athletic reported. They repeated the same phrase three times, per the AP.
According to The New York Times-owned sports outlet, the athlete smiled to himself as a mixture of applause and booing arose throughout the Melbourne stadium. After a brief pause, he began his runner-up speech, in which he elected not to acknowledge the heckler.
Zverev did, however, address the interruption in a news conference that followed the ceremony, stating that he is not 'open' to discussing the allegations moving forward. 'I believe there are no more accusations,' he said, per The Athletic. 'There haven't been for, what, nine months now.'
The tennis star then addressed the heckler's comment that 'Australia believes' his exes' allegations more directly, stating, 'Good for her, I think she was the only one in the stadium who believed anything in that moment.'
'I think I've done everything I can, and I'm not about to open that subject again,' he concluded.
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Sharapova, a former tennis player, has accused Zverev of repeatedly abusing her throughout 2019, according to The Athletic. She went public with the allegations on social media and in a story published by Slate, but did not press charges.
The pro athlete denied Sharapova's allegations, calling them "unfounded,' according to BBC Sports. And though Sharapova did not take any legal action, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) conducted its own investigation against Zverev, and found 'insufficient evidence' of her claims, per the British outlet.
In 2023, Patea, with whom Zverev shares a child, also leveled abuse allegations at the pro athlete, accusing him of pushing her against a wall and choking her, per The Athletic. He denied all of the allegations.
Patea brought charges against Zverev in Berlin's Tiergarten court and in October of that year, a judge imposed a penalty order of $489,000 on the tennis star, which he later appealed, according to the sports outlet. This led to a public trial that began in May 2024, and was slated to run during the French Open and Wimbledon, but was subsequently settled out of court.
At the time, a spokesperson for the Berlin court made a statement clarifying that the decision to settle 'is not a verdict and it is not a decision about guilt or innocence,' The Athletic reported.
Zverev is currently in a relationship with Sophia Thomalla.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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Scheffler chases back-to-back majors at US Open
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