Troubles have been looming over Alexander Zverev outside the court for quite some time now. Ever since news of his physical abuse case broke out, Zverev has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The 26-year-old German tennis player outperformed expectations to beat Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 Australian Open and reach the semi-finals. He, however, lost to Daniil Medvedev in the semis. Going forward, his court hearing dates have been announced and they might clash with the French Open schedule. Will Zverev be forced to miss the French Open?
Olga Sharypova, Zverev’s ex-girlfriend, first accused the tennis star of physical and mental abuse in October 2020. Even as the world was coming to terms with this shocking news, the 25-year-old German was accused once more by another of his ex-girlfriends Brenda Patea.
Patea, who has a child Mayla with Zverev, accused him of physical assault. Now, regarding the second accusation, Zverev will have to be present in court by the end of May this year.
There has been much hue and cry over Zverev playing the Australian Open. These two accusations are hanging over his head like the ‘Sword of Damocles’. Zverev was fighting two battles in the Australian Open – one to win and the other to prove quieten these murmurs floating around. It was especially difficult with the dates of the court hearing announced just before the AO started.
The dates are May 31, when it starts, followed by 7th, 11th, 18th, and 21st June. This will further advance into July on the 5th, 12th, and 19th of the month. The Rolan Garros will run from 20th May 2024 to 9th June 2024. If things remain the same, Zverev might have to miss out on this year’s French Open.
In fact, if his presence is mandatory then he might have to miss out on Wimbledon as well. The Wimbledon is scheduled from 1st July to 14th July 2024. But there is a caveat.
While it’s true that Zverev will be facing a public hearing in Berlin, he doesn’t have to compulsorily be present in the court. Lisa Jani, a spokesperson for the court, shared this information with DW.com. This frees up Zverev to play the French Open to his will. However, she also touched upon the fact that if the lone judge presided to oversee this hearing calls upon Zverev to testify, then the tennis player has to drop everything else and be physically present. Either way, it will still be a huge mental battle for him to overcome.
Alexander Zverev’s impending consequences
In October last year, the judge levied a penalty of $492,700 upon Zverev based on the accusation. Even for lesser crimes, judges in Germany can issue a penalty order when and if they believe the case is straightforward and doesn’t require a warrant. The crime also carries a prison sentence of 5 years, although that seems unlikely for Zverev.
Besides his personal life, Zverev will also parallel suffer in the tennis world. If Zverev misses out on the French Open, his rank and points will likely plummet. Zverev, who currently has 4275 points and is World No. 6 at the moment, might lose 720 points or more if he misses out on the Roland Garros. He had the same points to defend at last year’s French Open if he reached the semi-finals, which he did. Zverev has been a semi-finalist at the Clay Court Open for the past 3 years now.
But more than anything, it’s this momentum and winning rhythm that the youngster might completely lose. If the AO was difficult for him with the crowd against him, the French Open will be no different. It might be worse due to the coincidence of the court dates, as tennis fans would love to remind him about. This chain of events will likely hamper his French Open preparations, then the Wimbledon, and even the Olympics right after that.
Besides the four Grand Slams, the Olympics are also a grand event for any tennis player to stamp their authority. And Alexander Zverev has stamped that authority after he beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-1 in the final and won the Gold medal. Missing out on the chance to defend his Olympic Gold will certainly hurt the German star.
As mentioned, even if Zverev doesn’t miss out on any of the competitions, things are not going to be easy for him. Besides battling his mentality and fans, Zverev will also rue the fact that his good performance on-court is fetching more attention off-court. His Top 4 finish at AO has increased the number of news articles about his domestic abuse. This, in turn, was the result of more searches about him.
ATP too is in a spot of bother, since Alexander Zverev continues to be in a leadership role in the ATP Players’ Council. This is something that is increasingly making fellow players and other staff members uncomfortable, as a BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra journalist in tennis Ben Rothenberg reports.
