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The Laver Cup announced on Friday that Alexander Zverev would be joining the likes of Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem and Matteo Berrettini in Team Europe at the 2021 edition of the tournament. But Zverev's inclusion hasn't gone down well with fans on Twitter, who are unhappy with the way the German's abuse allegations have been handled.
Zverev has played the Laver Cup every year since 2017 and he has committed to participating at this year's event too, which will take place at the TD Garden in Boston.
"Olympic Gold medalist and 3x Team Europe champion Alexander Zverev confirmed for Laver Cup in Boston 2021," the Laver Cup wrote on their Twitter handle.
Alexander Zverev, ranked No. 5 in the world, has had a strong season in 2021, the highlight of which was his Olympic gold medal-winning run in Tokyo. The German upset World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals before comprehensively beating Karen Khachanov in the championship match.
Zverev's on-court success, however, has been clouded by the fact that he has been accused of domestic abuse by his ex-girlfriend Olya Sharypova. Around 10 months ago Sharypova made some shocking allegations about Zverev, naming a series of incidents where he supposedly abused her physically and emotionally.
It is pertinent to note that one of the incidents allegedly occurred at the 2019 edition of the Laver Cup. Sharypova claimed in an interview last year that Zverev's abusive actions at the exhibition tournament in Geneva drove her to a suicide attempt.
"This is absolutely disgusting" - Twitter fans in reaction to Alexander Zverev's inclusion at the 2021 Laver Cup
The news of Alexander Zverev making his fourth appearance at the exhibition event was met with a barrage of criticism from fans on Friday. Some questioned the Laver Cup for failing to acknowledge Sharypova's claims, while others plugged her interview with Ben Rothenberg - where she gave a detailed account of her troubled relationship with Zverev - in the comments.
A fan named "Isa" claimed that the organizers could have roped in any of the other quality European players instead of Zverev, given the overarching controversy.
"This is absolutely disgusting, there are many players who are much more worth of the spot and are not involved in domestic violence allegations," Isa tweeted.
Another fan pointed out that the abuse and suicide attempt allegedly happened at the Laver Cup itself, which makes their dismissal of the matter particularly egregious.
"He’s an abuser and abused his girlfriend at your tournament," a fan wrote in reply to Laver Cup on Twitter.
Andrew Eccles, who works for the Racquet magazine, claimed that the silence of the Laver Cup organizers was insensitive to not only Sharypova, but other domestic violence victims too. The journalist also slammed Roger Federer, who helped establish the event, for his inaction on the issue.
"I don’t think these tennis organizations realize how damaging this is getting. Why stay engaged with or care about a sport that lacks any moral center?" Andrew Eccles wrote. "Also a sad indictment of Roger Federer during his late career, seriously."
Another fan named "Angie" tried to get the tennis community together to boycott this year's Laver Cup. She also asserted that the fans shouldn't endorse the event, even if their favorites are participating in it.
Angie's tweet calling for a boycott has already received 130 likes and nearly 50 retweets, which suggests there are many others who approve of the idea.
"Guys, we need to make a collective decision to boycott Laver Cup as long as Zverev is part of it. LC is invitational and directly involved in an incident; this is a statement. And we need to make our own. Even if it’s Roger, even if our favs are playing. Can we agree to do this?" Angie wrote.
Alexander Zverev, meanwhile, has been going about his business totally unaffected by the allegations against him. The German has also seen a steady increase in his fan following this year, as he has produced consistent results on the court.
