The allegations of domestic abuse against Alexander Zverev by his ex-girlfriend have been found cleared by the Men’s Tennis Tour, citing “insufficient evidence to substantiate”.
As such, the ATP will not be taking any disciplinary action against the tennis player, more than two years after Olga Sharypova first made claims against Zverev.
The allegations stated that Zverev had physically and emotionally abused Sharypova during the 2019 Shanghai Masters, an ATP 1000 Masters event. Zverev has always denied the allegations.
The investigations were carried out by the Lake Forest Group. They conducted extensive interviews with Zverev, Sharypova, and 24 other people.
They also looked into the messages between Sharypova and Zverev. In the end, they determined that there was “a lack of reliable evidence and eyewitness reports” as well as “conflicting statements by Sharypova, Zverev, and other interviewees”.
Following the results of the investigations, the ATP determined that it was not necessary to take any disciplinary actions.
They however said that their decision “may be reevaluated should new evidence come to light”.
Since the allegations were made in 2019, Zverev has not been suspended. And with the claims still being investigated, he was able to win a gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. In the same month, Sharypova added further claims. She also said that the physical abuse had driven her to numerous suicide attempts.
Zverev welcomed the outcome saying, “From the beginning, I have maintained my innocence and denied the baseless allegations made against me. I welcomed and fully cooperated with the ATP’s investigation and am grateful for the organization’s time and attention in this matter.”
“This decision marks a third, neutral, third-party arbiter who has reviewed all relevant information and made a clear and informed decision on this matter in my favor. In addition to the ATP’s independent investigation, I have also initiated court proceedings in Germany and Russia, both of which I have won.”
“I am grateful that this is finally resolved and my priority now is recovering from injury and concentrating on what I love most in this world – tennis.”
“I want to thank my friends, family, and fans for their ongoing support. We followed the long and difficult process and justice has prevailed.”
