Zverev at Roland Garros in September. (Stephanie Myles/Opencourt.ca)
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Alexander Zverev is a talented, handsome, multilingual, extremely wealthy professional tennis player who has been custom-designed since his youth to be a “superstar-in-waiting” as the Big Three era winds down.
He can be charming and charismatic – or hubristic and dismissive. His personality works for some and turns off others, depending on what they want to see or what’s important to them in the athletes they support.
Some people don’t like him because they don’t like the way he plays tennis – fandom can be that way.
Some people were turned off by his seemingly cavalier behaviour in the wake of the this summer’s Adria Tour coronavirus mess. (His parents later both contracted it).
But right now, Alexander Zverev has a bigger problem.
Actually, he has several problems.
How he deals with them may well determine the course of a career which, at 23, has barely begun.
And the ancillary consequences are significant. Because “Alexander Zverev, tennis star” is an industry; it’s a lot more than just him.
Zverev is going to be a daddy
The first bombshell dropped Wednesday, when Zverev’s former girlfriend Brenda Patea announced in the German magazine Gala that she was five months pregnant with his child.
The news, obviously, spread far and wide from that original scoop.
Patea, a 27-year-old model, then began to populate her Instagram account with photos of her baby bump.
The couple had broken up, although it appears they knew about the baby when they ended things.
In the original interview, Patea said she had no contact with Zverev since the breakup, and planned to raise the child alone. Behind that may have concern about accusations that she was only after Zverev for his money, even if she has a career of her own.
Next, accusations of violence
On the heels of what was already some pretty blockbuster news for a young, single tennis star came a second bombshell the same day.
This one, unlike the baby news, had no silver lining.
Olya Sharypova, who dated Zverev before the relationship with Patea, took to her Instagram account (that’s how the kids do it these days) to tell a story.
Also 23, the Russian photographer has known Zverev since they were kids.
She played tennis as a junior, although she stopped when she was about 16.
Shocking accusations
Sharypova laid out some pretty terrifying but utterly unproven accusations of domestic violence – notably in New York during the 2019 US Open, when they were still a couple.
Sharypova has some receipts
She posted alleged texts to friends, photos, and implied there is a lot more to tell.
(Here’s a Twitter account that has been chronicling and translating a lot of it).
There is also an interview in a Russian media outlet. Here is Part 1, and Part 2.
On Thursday, tennis writer Ben Rothenberg published an interview on the Racquet Magazine website, that he did with Sharypova last Friday.
The default is to believe
Statistics vary on the number of reported accusations of domestic violence and rape that turn out to be false. But in nearly all studies, the number is small. And that’s only the ones that are reported to authorities.
So the default is – should be – to hear someone when they’re courageous enough to come forward. To listen. No matter when it is or who it’s about.
On the flip side, presumption of innocence is a legal construct, a standard to meet in a court of law. Unfortunately, in 2020, it does not translate to the court of public opinion.
Zverev surely will relate his side of the story at some point. And he should. There are always two sides to every story. Always. And it’s true that the only two people who really know what goes on in a relationship are … those two people.
But whether Zverev’s fans – and business associates – believe Sharypova or not is only part of what this is about. The initial news always gets more attention than any subsequent clarification or walkback.
It’s also about how Zverev will handle it. And what the impact on his career might be in the #MeToo era.
An ineffective statement
It took not quite a day for Zverev to post something on his social media.
It was, by any measure, an ineffective statement.
Me, myself and I
The first three sentences include with the word “I” – and the first sentence is about how the last days were challenging … for him.
It’s short. And it lumps together an unexpected but intrinsically joyful event with some pretty heinous accusations.
It’s glib, too. The tone sends off “no big deal, just a minor annoyance in the charmed life of Alexander Zverev. It’ll all work out no prob” vibes.
While Patea appeared clear in stating the former couple had had no contact, and that she planned to raise the baby alone and not share custody (this would be up to the courts), Zverev’s take is that they have a “good relationship” and can “take care of it without the media involved.”
(The media is already involved – Patea announced the news in a magazine).
Conflicting versions
As for the accusations of violence, Zverev they are “unfounded” and they “make him sad”.
He said he “doesn’t know why she is making those accusations now”, since the relationship “ended a long time ago”.
As if when the date of the end of the relationship is relevant. It is as tone deaf as it is awkward.
And given the slight grammatical errors understandable in a third language – and general tone – it appears he wrote it himself. When there is this much at stake, you … don’t do this yourself. Because these types of things can get truly ugly.
When I spoke to an agent who does not represent Zverev, the advice offered was to hire a crisis PR firm that specializes in handling – spinning – these types of things for famous people.
It’s hard to fathom any experienced PR person signing off on that statement.
(According to Rothenberg’s interview on the Racquet Magazine website, German crisis PR specialist Béla Anda has been hired).
Online reaction split
Social media, of course, is only a small sliver of the actual universe. But the reaction has been as we’ve come to expect.
Zverev fans – and those whose attitudes towards the issue of domestic violence are virulently stuck in the 1950s – are accusing Sharypova of being a liar, a spurned woman with “no evidence”, who’s “out to get him”.
Those who don’t like him think he should be drummed out of the game. Those who are neutral, or less willing to immediately jump to conclusions, are sitting back to see how the story develops. They’re hoping it’s not true.
They’re also taking notes on which players are “liking” Zverev’s statement – thus tacitly endorsing or supporting him, at least virtually.
A lot at stake
Zverev is currently represented by Team8, the agency spearheaded by its superstar client, Roger Federer.
Federer took Zverev under his wing many years ago. He practiced with him often. And his mentorship paid off because just over a year ago, in Aug. 2019, Zverev officially signed with Team 8.
“I thought: If Roger has been with this agency for so long, it must be the best,” Zverev said when his new association became public.
Patricio Apey had managed Zverev since his very first steps in the pros. That relationship ended up in a protracted court battle before Zverev could extricate himself. It cost him much of 2019 as his mind and energy were elsewhere. And they’re still in court.
Will Federer stand behind him?
But all of this puts Federer – and Team 8 – in a bind unless they can make it go away.
Through Federer’s career, there has never been a hint of off-court impropriety or drama in his personal life, or those of anyone around him. It’s an endemic part of his image and enduring appeal – an appeal that Team 8 will continue to monetize long after Federer stops playing.
The Zverev situation – however it plays out – is a little too close to home.
So it will be fascinating to see whether the 39-year-old Swiss star, whose recovery from knee surgeries has been slow but who intends to get back on tour in January, stands behind him or quietly dissociates from him.
Stepping up for your client
Team 8, as a going concern, doesn’t need this. It has invested a lot of its future into the Laver Cup – an investment that has yet to pay dividends. The cancellation of the 2020 edition in Boston because of the pandemic did not help.
The company doesn’t have many tennis clients: Federer, Zverev are about it. Newcomer Coco Gauff doesn’t have an official contract with the agency, we’re reliably told, although it has negotiated several deals on her behalf.
Juan Martin del Potro and Grigor Dimitrov were once associated. Dimitrov left, and del Potro’s affairs are reportedly now managed by his father for the most part.
Financial implications
Zverev’s adidas contract is shortly up for renewal, if there wasn’t enough going on.
Adidas is a German company; they may well stand behind their countryman. No statement has yet been issued; when you think of how quickly Maria Sharapova’s sponsors reacted after she announced her positive doping test, it’s a big vacuum.
So far, we’ve not heard much of anything from Team 8. Zverev is in Paris this week to play the Masters 1000 tournament there.
French government recently imposed stricter COVID-19 restrictions. So no fans will be allowed to attend. Perhaps it’s a blessing.
He makes his debut in doubles Monday, on the smallest court.
The effect on sponsors
In addition to adidas, Zverev has lucrative sponsorship deals with Head racquets, Richard Mille watches (whose top star is Rafael Nadal, another superstar whose public image is immaculate), Peugeot cars (for whom Novak Djokovic is the top tennis face) and the fashion brand Z Zegna.
Sponsors have become increasingly skittish in recent years when faced with unsavory accusations in their representatives’ personal lives.
And in the current climate, where the pandemic is hurting a lot of companies financially, those decisions become more weighted.
As for the ATP, which has clauses about “conduct detrimental to the game”, it is a non-factor other than the fact that Peugeot is also a platinum-level partner sponsor of the Tour.
Tennis players are independent contractors, not employees of the tour. That’s a completely different structure, say, than the NBA or NFL, which has to deal with its players’ off-court behavior even when the leagues would prefer to ignore it.
This story is in its infancy (pardon the pun) and is not going away.
How Zverev, and everyone around him, handles it will be the story within a story, with a lot weighing in the balance.
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I don’t see the Linz WTA tournament listed in the Tennis Channel schedule. I thought Tennis Channel agreed to televise or at least stream all the WTA Tournaments that the WTA TV had done before (to USA audience). What gives?
This is the last WTA tournament of the year, so you’d think it would be televised/streamed.
Yes, I noticed last week it wasn’t even on WTA.TV (Didn’t check Tennis Channel).
I kept thinking they would add it but then I remembered it wasn’t streamed last year.
There are some WTA tournaments that aren’t part of WTA TV (various reasons, going down to whoever owns them selling their own broadcast rights).
I remember the Quebec City tournament around this time of the year being one of those.
I think it’s only on Eurosport as of … Wednesday.
Thanks for your reply. I know the tournament was televised last year on Tennis Channel because it was memorable, Coco Gauff’s first WTA title.
Yes, you’re right about that. But it’s possible it was a late, individual buy BECAUSE of Coco. I don’t know the details, though.
I’ve never considered myself a fan of Zverev but after reading your article, I feel bad for the guy. Without any evidence or hearing his side of the story, you have decided that this guy is totally guilty about everything. You took lots of cheap shots throughout your article and the bit about babies and dogs was really low but totally expected from an irresponsible reporter!
I read his comments and I did not see anything wrong. What did you expect from him? The guy is going through a rough patch and it appears you want to kick him when he is down. The “me too” girlfriend/photographer could simply be venting some frustrations after learning the news about the upcoming baby. Cut him a little slack until you have more information.
“presumption of innocence” is a legal construct? Indeed this is correct and it is much more than that I doubt you could understand. You referencing the court of public opinion as if your opinion or anyone else’s is more important than the construct you so dismissively reference is emblematic of your generation’s lack of intelligence and myopic disregard for a tenet of a fair society. Your disrespect and misunderstanding of this fundamental pillar that protects all of us is frightening and is miseducating the public at large. You should have some legal education or editorial supervision before you publish such an irresponsible attempt at legal analysis and the probable destruction of anyone’s reputation.
You would also be well advised to review the 5th and 14th amendment of our US constitution. To you i’m sure this is just some legal “construct” unimportant when considering judging others. I hope you review the laws in the era of your ancestors that came to America and the repressive regimes they escaped. Your attitude, lack of due process, and court of public opinion have destroyed many at lynchings and Salem witch trials. Please educate yourself as these principles of freedom do in fact protect us. The true danger is reckless journalists such as yourself the think their platform exists inside an echo chamber and spew stupidity and ignorance.
I’m not sure where you got the impression I thought it was “unimportant”. That’s your own (erroneous) interpretation.
And – again – the very fact that you feel free to insult and slander me here without a second thought or any apparent concern, only contradicts the very point you’re trying to make. And in real time, too.
Zverev just posted something on Instagram. There are already tons of replies to it. They generally fall into one of two categories.
The first are diehard fans who are calling Olya Sharypova a damn liar who is out to destroy his reputation (for undetermined reasons). Because how could their beloved Sascha do anything like that? I mean, he’s cute and he’s famous and he hits a tennis ball well. So she MUST be lying. I don’t think they consulted the Constitution before offering up those views.
The other are people who assume Zverev did what Sharypova said he did, and therefore should rot in hell and his career should be ruined. I don’t believe they consulted the Constitution either.
There is basically no reasoned middle ground whatsoever.
Which is my point. This is the world we live in. We are no longer in Salem. We’re probably in a worse place.
I hope you are taking just as much time to excoriate all of those in the media who ARE calling for him to get his feet put to the fire. Because that’s … not what I did.
Or are you just picking on me, specifically, for some reason?
Stay safe.
Feel so sorry for the guy being so young and talented as it looks like this will end his amazing career. Could well be true/partially true or not really. Have watched him play other young and fun guys like Kyrgios courtside and hoped they were going to reinvigorate a staid and grim sport where social rules are as unfriendly as the elderly fans are inflexible. But much media seems to pile on them. If she is going to pursue him legally as a criminal then go for it. If not, then why is she doing this? Pressure needs to get resolved asap.
She’s says she’s doing it because she wants people to know. And because she wants other women to know that it’s okay to come forward, whenever it is.
Do you really think the only reason for women to come forward is to press criminal charges?
Zverev has become a soap opera. Whether or not the allegations are true, he’s made some very poor decisions which have brought him to this point. In my memory, no active player’s personal life has garnered ths kind of attention ( for instance, most of Boris Becker’s scandals happened post-career). My advice: take a hiatus from the sport. Doubt that will happen; but there are more important things than tennis, like learning to be a good and responsible human being.