It’s been quite some time since Kevin Anderson has been seen on the tennis court in action and his name has entered the news headlines. The South African is best known to have made it to the 2017 US Open finals, where he lost to Rafael Nadal. However, he has now gained the limelight again, but for a reason different from his on-court performances.
The former tennis player came out in support of American journalist Ben Rothenberg for the defamation case slapped on him by Alexander Zverev. Anderson, along with his wife has donated $1000 to the journalist’s GoFundMe account to contribute to the legal fee required for the journalist to fight the German.
Former player Kevin Anderson and his wife have donated $1000 to Ben Rothenberg’s GoFundMe (which seeks to raise legal funds to fight for an appeal against a Zverev defamation lawsuit)
️ Source: https://t.co/Wk39bOU7m1 pic.twitter.com/noFvTdirnM
— Olly (@Olly_Tennis_) August 30, 2024
The case was filed against Rothenberg by Zverev because of the former’s reporting of the domestic violence charges pressed against the German by his former partner Olya Sharypova.
Rothenberg stood vehemently against Zverev during his trial and was one of the voices who demanded that Zverev shouldn’t be allowed to play on the ATP Tour during the course of the trial.
However, the World No.4 was declared innocent, and hence, decided to make it even with Rothenberg who scrutinized him publicly.
The journalist had published Sharypova’s testimony in a digital media organization named Racquet and Slate, which refused to lend its support to him for the case. This prompted him to resort to crowdfunding measures to fight the case off while facing a financial crisis. While the aim was to raise $22,000, he has already received contributions that exceed the amount demanded.
In his latest tweet, Rothenburg informed that he has received over $30,000 from over 500 donors, which is indeed huge for him. At the same time, the journalist also informed that the entire exceeding amount will be donated to the House of Ruth, an organization that works for the victims of domestic abuse.
Thanks to the folks reaching out with words of support regarding my still ongoing legal battle with Zverev over my reporting from 2020, I really do appreciate it tons.
If you are able to support my crowdfunding efforts in this case, the link is here:https://t.co/jclYajPBDq
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) August 27, 2024
However, Rothenburg isn’t exactly a favorite in the tennis community. He got into trouble for calling Novak Djokovic an ‘anti-vax poster boy’ when he refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19. His decision also led him to miss out on the Australian Open in January 2022 and at the same time, the journalist voiced his opinion on how it was wrong of him.
Djokovic’s wife Jelena Djokovic didn’t approve of Rothenberg judging her husband and got into an argument with him on social media. She also took a dig at him and warned him from becoming a ‘poster boy for hatred and bullying’.
Thank you for sharing your beliefs. I hope you don’t get judged for them. Or become a poster boy for hatred and bullying. You never know.
You are also influential figure, please don’t continuously disappoint. Unless that’s your role.
— Jelena Djokovic (@jelenadjokovic) July 10, 2022
Who would have thought that Rothenburg, who is otherwise well known for writing Naomi Osaka’s official biography as well as is followed by Rafael Nadal on Twitter, would face such tough times? So the Zverev case is crucial for the journalist as he will not just have to compensate by giving a huge amount of money but his credibility is at stake too.
