Sloane Stephens has spoken about Alexander Zverev continuing to be promoted by the ATP despite the abuse allegations surrounding him.
Both Stephens and Zverev are still in the Australian Open. Stephens beat Daria Kasatkina in her last match, while Zverev survived a five-set thriller against Lukas Klein. The German came through in a 10-point tiebreak.
However, most of the attention surrounding the 2020 US Open champion has been about the abuse allegations made against him. This is after it was announced that Zverev's trial for the allegations will be held in May.
This has led to the 26-year-old being asked about the situation in each press conference since, and that has left him unimpressed. For instance, Zverev reacted angrily after being asked about it after his last match.
ATP players have not wanted to say much about Zverev's situation. However, Stephens did give a more detailed answer when asked the question. The 30-year-old began by saying she doubted it would have been handled the same way on the WTA Tour.
"I think that the ATP kind of beats their own drum. Yeah, they do what they do on that side. Would that happen on the WTA Tour? Probably not."
Stephens then said she doubted anything would change until the trial takes place, pointing to the inaction ever since allegations against Zverev first came to light.
"For three years no one has done anything, so I don't think another five months of waiting for a criminal trial I guess to happen is going to change much on either side."
The 2017 US Open champion also said that the issue needed to be dealt with for both the tour and the fans.
"I think at this point for the tour and for the fans it needs to be done with. I think that's what will happen. People will get what they want whenever his trial is."
0 Comments