Tennis, Zverev acquitted of allegations of violence against ex-girlfriend

No disciplinary proceedings against Alexander Zverev. The ATP has announced that it has completed its independent investigation into the 25-year-old German, accused in October 2021 by his ex-girlfriend, the Uzbek Olya Sharipova (also a professional tennis player), abuse and violence, including even an attempt to suffocate with a pillow.

Olya Sharipova’s allegations

Back on the field in December after the bad ankle injury during the Roland Garros semifinal against Nadal, Zverev can breathe a big sigh of relief. The federation, which commissioned the investigation to the investigative company ‘The Lake Forest Group’, found no traces that could confirm Sharipova’s allegations. The relationship between the two, dating back to before the pandemic, lasted just over a year and after the breakup, the 28-year-old Uzbek had made very heavy statements speaking of “physical and psychological violence” and accusing her ex-boyfriend of having tried it to suffocate with a pillow.

“No action”

At that point, it was inevitable that the ATP would open a file, as confirmed by CEO Massimo Calvelli: ”The seriousness of the accusations required an in-depth investigative process”. In particular, the abuses would have occurred during the Shanghai tournament in 2019, but the investigations also focused on the events in Monaco, Geneva and New York. A total of 24 people (including Zverev’s family and friends) were interrogated, and a vast amount of photo, video and message material was studied. However, after 15 months of investigation, the ATP has in fact announced that there is no evidence of the guilt of “Sasha”, on which no disciplinary action will be taken. ”Zverev has always declared himself innocent – reads the federation’s press release – and has always supported the investigation”. The 25-year-old German is currently at number 16 in the rankings and at the Australian Open he was eliminated in the second round by the American Mmoh. It will still take a few weeks for the complete recovery of form after the long stop, but in the meantime this bad non-tennis affair can be considered concluded.