The professional tennis organization ATP has completed the investigation into allegations of abuse against Alexander Zverev after 15 months – and will not take any action. The ATP announced this on Tuesday.
Zverev’s ex-girlfriend Olga Sharipova had publicly accused the Hamburger of domestic violence. According to ATP, the evidence for sanctions against the Olympic champion was not enough. Sharipova has not yet lodged a complaint with the police.
The investigation was conducted by independent investigators from The Lake Forest Group (LFG) on behalf of the ATP. The LFG interviewed Sharipova, Zverev and 24 other people about the alleged incidents during the Masters 2019 in Shanghai or in Monaco, New York and Geneva, evaluated text messages, audio files and photos. Due to “lack of reliable evidence” and due to “contradictory” statements, no offense can be determined.
Zverev always firmly rejected allegations
The 25-year-old had rejected the allegations made by Sharipova in November 2020 in the tennis magazine “Racquet” and in August 2021 on the Internet platform “slate.com” as “defamatory and untrue” and called in his lawyers. Zverev welcomed the opening of the ATP investigation, as this was the only way to prove his innocence. According to the men’s tennis organization, after the investigation began, he supported the investigation and “voluntarily provided material from electronic devices”.
The ATP said it wanted to learn from the investigation, which showed “that we need to be more responsive on security issues,” said Managing Director Massimo Calvelli. Due to the “seriousness and complexity of the allegations”, however, the months-long process was necessary “in order to reach a well-founded judgement”. The ATP reserves the right to “reassess the case if new evidence comes to light,” the statement said.
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Sports current | 01/31/2023 | 4:15 p.m
