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The ATP issued a statement Tuesday saying it had completed its “independent” investigation into allegations of domestic violence against Alexander Zverev. And the governing body decided not to sanction the German Olympic champion, for lack of sufficient evidence. The facts reported in the press by the former companion of the player, Olya Sharypova, would go back to 2019.
It took more than a year for the verdict to come down. The ATP will not sanction Alexander Zverev for allegations of domestic violence against him. The governing body of men’s professional tennis announced Tuesday that the “independent investigation” it had conducted in October 2021 had ended without finding sufficient evidence against the German Olympic champion. His former girlfriend Olya Sharypova had accused him of assaults that would date back to 2019.
To ensure the seriousness of the investigations, the ATP has given some details in its statement. The investigation was conducted by the Lake Forest Group (LFG) led by two private investigators G. Michael Verden and Jennifer Mackovjak, who together have more than 60 years of experience in their field, which includes professional sports. The governing body further assures that Sharypova, Zverev and 24 other people, including family, friends, tennis players and other witnesses from the circuit have testified.
LACK OF EVIDENCE AND CONFLICTING TESTIMONY
In addition, numerous documents were brought to the attention of the investigators, such as text messages, audio recordings and photos, as well as the articles written about the case, of course. After 15 months of investigation, due to a lack of material evidence proving Zverev’s guilt and conflicting testimonies, the German was not prosecuted.
However, should new evidence emerge, this decision may be reviewed. The allegations of domestic violence involved events that allegedly took place in Shanghai in the fall of 2019, but also in Monaco, New York and Geneva in the same year, which made the investigation more complex.
