allegation of assault
Penal order requested against Alexander Zverev
07/19/2023, 4:17 p.m
In 2020 there were allegations of violence against Alexander Zverev for the first time, but no complaint. Now the German tennis star is again accused of bodily harm – and the Berlin public prosecutor’s office is applying for a penalty order. Apparently it’s about the relationship with his daughter’s mother.
The Berlin public prosecutor’s office has applied for a penalty order against Alexander Zverev. This is confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Berlin criminal courts to RTL/ntv. According to RTL/ntv information, the amount of the fine requested should be around half a million euros. Zverev, Germany’s best tennis player and Olympic champion in Tokyo 2021, did not want to comment on the events when asked.
The application for a penalty order should be interpreted to mean that the public prosecutor sees sufficient suspicion against Zverev. However, a penalty order is not a judgement, but to a certain extent an offer from the law enforcement authorities – if the accused accepts this, he saves himself a public trial. Should a penalty order actually be issued against the 26-year-old, he could appeal against it for two weeks. The presumption of innocence applies until a final, legally binding decision is made.
According to RTL/ntv information, the content is apparently about allegations from Zverev’s previous relationship with Brenda Patea. The former candidate of the casting show “Germany’s Next Top Model” gave birth to their daughter in March 2021, but the two had been separated for a few months at that time. Pateas management confirmed to RTL/ntv that the public prosecutor responsible had applied for a penal order to be issued against Zverev for the allegation of bodily harm. In addition, the 29-year-old did not want to comment.
Zverev had been accused of physical assault in the past. In November 2020, his ex-girlfriend Olga Scharypova made serious allegations against the tennis pro, who is said to have physically attacked her in 2019. “It was psychological abuse. It was physical abuse,” she said at the time, but did not report it. Zverev vehemently disagreed, the men’s tennis organization ATP launched an investigation. This was discontinued in early 2023 on the grounds that insufficient evidence could be found.