Alexander Zverev's Davis Cup teammate, Yannick Hanfmann, has stated the ATP will have to take some kind of action if he is found guilty of domestic abuse.
The German No. 1 has been asked many times this year about his upcoming trial to face these charges, which Zverev has not been very appreciative of, clearly wanting to focus on tennis.
Despite this sometimes frosty relationship with the media, the 26-year-old did crack one recent joke in an interview. This was when Zverev gave his verdict about Jannik Sinner potentially becoming the world No. 1.
Sinner also recently overtook Djokovic in the Olympics race after his run to the title in Miami. This is an interesting development for Zverev since he is the defending Olympic champion.
Nonetheless, the coverage about Zverev's accusations will continue for a while to come. In an interview with ClayTenis, Hanfmann was asked about this topic. He began by saying that whatever verdict is given in the trial should be respected.
"He has a trial in May. And I think like once he gets through that trial, whatever verdict may come out , I think that we have to respect that one. That’s a normal procedure… to wait if he’s guilty or not guilty."
Hanfmann acknowledged that if his compatriot is found to be guilty, it is likely he will have to be removed from the Player Council and the ATP could need to take further steps as well.
"And then if he’s innocent, we don’t have to talk about it anymore and we move on. If he’s guilty, we’ll probably have to remove him from the Council. And the ATP will have to do something."
However, Hanfmann also felt it was unfair for Zverev to be asked about this so much at the Australian Open since the verdict is still not yet known.
"I thought it was a little bit unfair to speak about it so much in Australia because he has a trial upcoming. Not ongoing right know. So, yeah, to make that distinction I think is important. And let’s see what happens in May, June."