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Alexander Zverev has found himself facing another assault allegation, this time from Brenda Patea, the mother of his daughter.
Leading tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg was then percieved to be taking pleasure in the emergence of the new allegations against the German. This in turn frustrated several tennis fans on Twitter.
As per RTL Germany, the public prosecutor's office in Berlin has petitioned for a "criminal order" to be issued against Zverev. Should the court grant the penalty order, the World No. 19 will have a two-week window to contest the verdict.
While Patea's management team has confirmed that the allegation against the German pertain to "bodily harm," specific details of the charge are yet to emerge.
The latest allegations follow in the wake of Zverev being given a clean chit earlier this year. This arrived after a nearly three-year long investigation by the ATP into domestic assault allegations made by his ex-girlfriend Olga Sharypova.
At the time of Sharypova's allegations, Ben Rothenberg played a significant role in urging the ATP to investigate the claim. He also frequently shared updates about the investigation with tennis fans. Additionally, he personally visited Sharypova and documented her side of events.
After the recent assault allegations against Alexander Zverev surfaced, Rothenberg posted to social media about "watching everything unfold." He was perceived to be boasting about being right about the initial accusation.
Despite deleting the post later, his follow-up comment was also interpreted as him delighting in the latest allegation against the 26-year-old.
"Good morning," Rothenberg tweeted.
A fan claimed that Rothenberg didn't genuinely support women and was only concerned about being right.
"He doesn't actually support women he just wanted to be right," the fan posted.
Another fan expressed anger at the journalist for his choice of words.
"Shut the f**k up. There is nothing GOOD about a woman being harmed," the fan commented.
The fan also expressed concern about women feeling safe when even their supposed supporters behaved in such a manner.
"How are women ever supposed to feel safe when even the men who support them act like this," the fan commented further.
Here are a few more fan reactions:
Alexander Zverev set to take on Thiago Monteiro at Swedish Open
Alexander Zverev's Wimbledon 2023 campaign came to an end in the third round after he fell to Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5). The German has since made his way to the ATP 250 Swedish Open to contest the claycourt title.
The World No. 19 took on Alex Molcan in his tournament opener. Zverev won the first set 6-4 before Molcan fought back to claim the second, forcing a decider. Despite faltering when serving for the match at 5-3, the German eventually claimed a decisive break to secure a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in two hours and 25 minutes.
Alexander Zverev will be up against Thiago Monteiro in the Round of 16 on Thursday, July 20. He is currently aiming to claim his first ATP title since returning to the tour in January after an extended injury layoff.
