Why Alexander Zverev is wrong to proclaim that he has been deemed "innocent" in domestic abuse trial after settlement with ex-girlfriend
Things are going well for Alexander Zverev on the professional as well as personal front. The German has reached the final of the French Open by winning his semifinal clash with Casper Ruud last Friday, June 7. He has also reached an out-of-court settlement with his ex-girlfriend, Brenda Patea, by paying a fee of €200,000 imposed by the Berlin criminal court.
From the above amount, €150,000 will go to the state and the remaining €50,000 will go to charitable causes. The court has thus "discontinued" the proceedings in the case without announcing a verdict.
There were domestic abuse charges against Zverev, as he had allegedly tried to strangle his then-girlfriend in May 2020. After the court agreed to the settlement yesterday, the German was asked at a press conference in Paris whether he had been cleared of the charges.
Zverev said in response:
"That's what dropping the case is. That is innocence. They're not going to drop the case if you're guilty at the end of the day. I don't know what translations you have, but that's what it means. Done. We move on. I never ever want to hear another question about the subject again. That goes out to everybody"
Did the court really proclaim Alexander Zverev to be "innocent" though?
As lawyers from both sides refused to divulge details, there is still some uncertainty about the verdict. It is not clear whether the German star will have to pay his ex-girlfriend any additional amount as a part of the settlement other than the sum mentioned above. However, there are a couple of things to be considered here.
Firstly, Zverev's lawyers were contesting a penalty order and fine of €450,000 that was issued in October 2023. If we take a look at the final verdict, we can see that the amount of the financial penalty has been lessened, but had to still be paid in the form of the out-of-court settlement.
That would not have been the case had the court thought Zverev to be innocent and falsely charged. The court would have acceded to Zverev's appeal regarding the charges against him and declared him "not guilty."
Secondly, Zverev is the father of a three-year-old girl by Patea. The court is reported to have considered the future well-being of the child while closing the case. The trial, had it gone on, could have proven to be too much for the little kid.
The German tennis star holds joint custody of his daughter with his former girlfriend. As Katharina Dierlamm, one of Zverev's defense lawyers, said in this regard:
"This is for the good of the child that they have together, so it has the chance to grow up without conflict."
Zverev's fans will be happy to know that that the incident has not had any adverse effect on his career. However, to call Zverev "innocent" is probably taking things a bit too far.