Zverev should be kicked off tour indefinitely over umpire attack and off-court abuse allegations

Alexander Zverev should be kicked off the ATP Tour indefinitely and it’s not just because of his overnight tantrum in the Mexican Open.

Footage of Zverev’s disgraceful behaviour after losing a doubles match in Acapulco has gone viral. 

The German world No.3 singles player unleashed a foul-mouth tirade at the chair umpire late in the contest and then smashed his racquet repeatedly into base of the official’s chair as the players walked off the court after the match.

The umpire, Alessandro Germaini, had to move his feet for fear of being hit by Zverev’s wild swings at his chair.

Zverev was expelled from the rest of the tournament by Mexican Open officials.

“Look at where the ball bounced, for f—’s sake. You’re a f—ing idiot,” he yelled at the umpire after a close call which set up match point for his opponents in the third-set tie-break.

He has posted an apology on Instagram to express his remorse.

“It is difficult to put into words how much I regret my behaviour during and after the doubles match yesterday.

“I have privately apologised to the chair umpire because my outburst towards him was wrong and unacceptable, and I am only disappointed in myself. It just should not have happened and there is no excuse.

“I would like to apologize to my fans, the tournament and the sport I love.

“As you know, I leave everything on the court. Yesterday, I left too much. I am going to take the coming days to reflect – on my actions and how I can ensure that it will not happen again. I am sorry for letting you down.”

The 24-year-old and Brazilian doubles partner Marcelo Melo went down 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 to England’s Lloyd Glasspool and Finnish veteran Harri Heliövaara.

Zverev’s apology

This is not an isolated incident – he has a history of smashing racquets during matches – and it comes after Zverev has been accused of much worse off the court.

His former girlfriend, Olga Sharypova, has levelled accusations of domestic assault at Zverev, citing three occasions in New York City, Geneva and Phuket where he attacked her.

Sharypova, a retired Russian tennis player, said she self-harmed by injecting herself with insulin after two of the incidents in an in-depth interview with American media outlet Slate.

Zverev has denied the allegations, saying at the 2020 ATP Finals in London: “I have to stick to my initial thing of them being just untrue and continue to deny them. It makes me sad, the impact that such false accusations can have—on the sport, on the outside world, on myself as well.”

Sharypova alleged Zverev covered her face with a pillow so she could no longer breathe during the first incident in New York in 2019 and she fled into the street to avoid him.

In Geneva, she said he punched her in the face, prompting her to lock herself in the bathroom and inject herself with insulin: “I just wanted to leave in some way, because I can’t stand it anymore,” she told respected tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg in the expose, published last August.

Alexander Zverev and Olga Sharypova at the Hamburg Open in 2019 (Photo by Alexander Scheuber/Getty Images)

On the third occasion in Thailand, she fought back and scratched Zverev on the neck after she alleged he punched her as she was getting out of the shower in their hotel room.

“I was just trying to protect myself,” she said. “I’m already naked. I’m a woman, I don’t have much power. And after my shower, I don’t have time to get my clothes. I don’t feel safe for one second.”

She then claimed he told her “I hope you will die” .

Zverev has continued playing on the ATP Tour despite the serious allegations levelled at him six month ago. 

Rothenberg posted a tweet after Zverev’s latest outburst to report the ATP is still dragging its feet on the domestic violence allegations.

The ATP said “the investigation is ongoing. We have contracted a third party with expertise in this area to assist in our investigative process. Further information will be provided once the investigation is complete.”

The 2021 Olympic gold medallist crashed out in the fourth round of the Australian Open last month and not surprisingly, he threw a tantrum during his upset loss to Denis Sapavalov, destroying a racquet in an outburst.

Three years earlier at Melbourne Park, he whacked his racquet eight times onto the court as he sat down between games during a loss to Canada’s Milos Raonic.

The previous year he was at it again, smashing yet another racquet and abusing the chair umpire after a delay in the lights coming on during a late-afternoon match.

He was also part of the infamous party in a bar with a group of players including Novak Djokovic during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in June, 2020, despite claiming he was self-isolating at the time. 

Djokovic, who infamously was disqualified from the US Open in 2020 after hitting a line judge with a ball during a tantrum and was not allowed to compete in last month’s Australian Open after refusing to have the COVID-19 vaccine, backed the decision to boot Zverev from the Mexican Open.

But he expressed some empathy for his rival.

“I think he said it all in that statement. He realises that it was a mistake,” Djokovic said.

“I understand the frustration. Sometimes on the court you feel in the heat of the battle lots of different emotions.

“I made mistakes in the past where I’ve had tantrums on the court. I understand what the player is going through.

“But, of course, I do not justify his actions. He has, with the words that he had in the statement, handled it in a right way.

“I think the disqualification decision was not too harsh. I think it was correct under the circumstances.”

Former world No.1 Andy Murray, who is also competing in Mexico, said Zverev’s actions were dangerous.

“It was not good. It was dangerous, reckless. I obviously understand lots of players, athletes across lots of sports can get very frustrated,” he said. 

“Certainly me, myself, I’ve not always acted in the way I would want on the tennis court. I’m certainly not claiming to be an angel. I’m not perfect myself. 

“However, when you’re ripping your tennis racquet right next to the umpire multiple times, yeah, you can’t be doing that. I know obviously one of the British guys who was playing, as well, a bit dangerous. It’s graphite flying off the racquet, as well. Yeah, was not good.”

The ATP is yet to announce whether Zverev’s ban will extend beyond the Mexican Open and whether he will also be fined.

For a player who has more than $30 millions in career prizemoney, any fine that doesn’t have seven figures will barely be worth it.

More importantly, Zverev should not be allowed to play on the elite tour again until a full investigation into Sharypova’s allegations and he can prove he will not continually damage the reputation of tennis with his disgraceful behaviour.