WATCH: Shocking scenes as Alexander Zverev gets 'wife-beater' accusation in public from fan in Munich
Alexander Zverev experienced a disturbing moment at the BMW Open in Munich when a fan heckled him by referencing a past controversy. What made the situation even more jarring was that it took place in his homeland, where he might've expected more support.
Zverev began his 2025 season on a high, reaching the Australian Open final before falling to Jannik Sinner. However, his momentum quickly faded as he posted disappointing results at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and a few other stops before Munich.
The German cruised past Alexandre Muller to kick off his BMW Open campaign, then followed it up with wins over Daniel Altmaier and Tallon Griekspoor to reach the semifinals—his first since the Australian Open in Melbourne. It was during his match against Tallon Griekspoor that the incident in question unfolded.
As Zverev was about to take his second serve in the second set, a fan from the stands suddenly shouted, calling him a "wife-beater" in an attempt to provoke him. The comment left Zverev visibly stunned as he paused in disbelief, while the crowd reacted with immediate uproar. It is tied to past allegations he faced from his ex-girlfriends, Olga Sharypova and Brenda Patea, who accused him of abuse.
"Let's go, you f**king wife-beater," the fan screamed (translated from German).
The fan didn’t stop at just one outburst and continued to cause disruptions throughout the match. Eventually, the situation escalated to a point where Zverev, clearly frustrated, turned to the umpire and demanded that the spectator be removed from the stands.
"Fergus, Fergus, please kick him out. I don't want to repeat it. It's the same guy who did the same thing before my second serve once,” he said.
Despite that, Zverev maintained his focus and managed to secure the win, defeating Griekspoor 6-7(6), 7-6(3), 6-4. This victory earned him a spot in the semifinals of the BMW Open, where he is set to face Fabian Marozsan.
Alexander Zverev found himself in similar situation at Australian Open this year
This isn’t the first time Alexander Zverev has faced heckling over the domestic violence allegations made by his ex-girlfriends, Olga and Brenda. A similar incident occurred earlier this year in January during the Australian Open.
While Zverev was getting ready to give his runner-up speech after falling to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final, a woman from the crowd shouted that Australia supported Olga and Brenda and believed their stories. She was eventually escorted out by security officials.
“Australia believes Olya and Brenda,” the woman shouted.
Olga Sharypova first spoke out about her allegations in a 2020 interview with journalist Ben Rothenberg for Racquet magazine. She didn’t take the matter to the police or file any legal case, and after an internal review, the ATP stated there wasn’t enough evidence to support the claims.
Meanwhile, Brenda Patea brought forward her accusations in 2023, which eventually led to an out-of-court settlement in 2024. The resolution didn’t involve Alexander Zverev admitting guilt, and the case concluded without any criminal charges against him.