"Does no one want to prevent violence against women?" - Fans disappointed by journalist's remarks on Alexander Zverev after domestic abuse trial ends
Journalist Jon Wertheim's remarks about tennis player Alexander Zverev after the end of his domestic abuse trial have disappointed tennis fans. The German stood trial at the Tiergarten District Court in Berlin.
In 2020, Zverev's former partner and the mother of his daughter, Brenda Patea, accused him of causing bodily harm and physically assaulting her by pushing her against a wall and choking her. This accusation resulted in the German getting a €450,000 fine from Berlin's Prosecutors Office. Prior to Patea, the World No. 4 was accused of causing physical harm by one of his ex-girlfriends, Olga Sharypova.
Alexander Zverev had denied the claims and filed an objection against the order made in favor of Patea, leading to a public trial in May 2024. However, he was unable to attend the trial due to the ongoing French Open.
The trial recently concluded after Zverev's lawyers reached an out-of-court settlement with Brenda Patea in the domestic abuse case. The court ordered the World No. 4 to pay €200,000, where €150,000 has been allocated to the German state treasury and the remainder to several non-profit organizations.
Following the conclusion of the domestic abuse trial, tennis journalist Jon Wertheim made a call that was deemed controversial by fans. Wertheim suggested that Zverev's trial should now be forgotten and that people should focus solely on his tennis.
These remarks sparked shock and disappointment among tennis fans, who took to social media to express their opinions.
Some fans criticized Wertheim's remarks as "misguided" and "arrogant," while others accused those associated with tennis of not doing enough to prevent violence against women by ATP players .
"On Tennis Channel, Jon Wertheim just said about Zverev settling out of court: “…bottom line: this needs to be in the rear view mirror and now we can get back to talking about his tennis.” And *that* is not only misguided but also very arrogant," a fan posted.
"This is a crazy thing to say @jon_wertheim. Does no one in tennis want to actually prevent violence against women? Do we not care that there is no DV policy in the ATP bylaws? Do we not care that there were THREE players credibly accused of DV just within the last few years?," a fan wrote.
One fan described the journalist's remarks as "enabling."
"Classic enabling language. 😡, " a fan wrote.
Many questioned why journalists across all sports seem reluctant to address players' personal character flaws .
"Idk why journalists in all sports are averse to talking about things that are undoubtedly indicative of someone’s personal character & raise valid questions about the kind of people we want to lift up as public figures when thinking that critically is quite literally their job," a fan wrote.
"All they've ever wanted to do is pretend nothing happened it's so infuriating," a fan posted.
Another fan stated that the out-of-court settlement does not absolve Alexander Zverev of the domestic abuse allegations and that the domestic abuse allegations should not be ignored.
"There hasn’t been a single investigation that’s cleared him of something deeply, horrendously serious. That should never be swept under the rug," a fan wrote.
Alexander Zverev continues 2024 French Open campaign despite domestic abuse trial
Despite being on trial for domestic abuse in Berlin, Germany, Alexander Zverev continued to compete in the 2024 French Open with only his lawyers present during the court proceedings.
Seeded fourth, Zverev defeated players such as Rafael Nadal, David Goffin, 26th seed Tallon Griekspoor, and 13th seed Holger Rune to advance to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.
In the quarterfinals, Alexander Zverev triumphed over 11th seed Alex de Minaur to secure his spot in the semifinals, where he will face seventh seed Casper Ruud.