Alexander Zverev has fired back at tennis reporters in the wake of his domestic abuse case being dropped by the court.
Zverev was accused by his former girlfriend, Brenda Patea, of physical assault in an incident that happened in May 2020 and which resulted in bodily harm. He was issued a penalty order and fined €450,000 last year.
The World No. 4 refuted the allegations and denied paying the fine, which constituted a hearing that commenced last Friday. During this hearing, the defendant and complainant presented their sides of the argument while Zverev was busy competing at Roland Garros.
Zverev's lawyers requested that the rest of the trial be held behind closed doors to preserve the privacy of his three-year-old daughter, Mayla. A decision on that request was expected this week.
But things changed dramatically this week. On Friday, June 7th, the Tiergarten District Court in Berlin confirmed that the hearing related to allegations of physical assault towards Zverev, brought about by his former girlfriend Brenda Patea, was "terminated."
That is after Zverev and Patea reached an out-of-court agreement to settle the case. The tennis star has been ordered to pay €200,000. Of this, €150,000 goes to the state treasury, and the rest goes to charitable organizations.
Shortly after his semifinal victory over Casper Ruud, Zverev spoke to curious journalists who wanted to hear his thoughts about the news that had been the dominant narrative during his stay at the tournament.
The German reiterated that he was always confident he would avoid conviction, although the court did not issue a ruling regarding the case, leaving the debate raging on social media.
When pressed for an opinion about the absence of a verdict, Zverev pronounced himself as innocent. Termination of the case means that he does not have a criminal record. He told reporters not to ask him about the topic in future interviews.
"I told you so from the start. I told everybody. I'm happy that it's over. Yeah, nothing else more to say. That's it. Four years. I'm happy about that."
"That's what dropping the case is. That is innocence. They're not going to drop the case if you're guilty at the end of the day. I don't know what translations you have, but that's what it means. Done. We move on. I never ever want to hear another question about the subject again. That goes out to everybody."