Zverev settles abuse case with ex-girlfriend

IMAGE: Alexander Zverev in action during the ongoing French Open Championship. Photograph: Susan Mullane - USA TODAY Sports/Reuters

World number four Alexander Zverev has agreed a settlement after the mother of his child accused him of physical abuse and a German court closed the case on Friday, the French Open semi-finalist's lawyers said.

The agreement, according to German media, includes a monetary condition of 200,000 euros ($217,820), with the player not found guilty of any wrongdoing. "The process against Alexander Zverev was shelved today by the court with the agreement of the prosecutor's office and Ms Brenda Patea," the player's lawyers said in a statement. "Alexander Zverev agreed to this ... in order to shorten the process especially in the interest of the child they have together.

Alexander Zverev remains innocent." The decision comes hours before Zverev, 27, faces Casper Ruud in the French Open last four on Friday. Zverev had rejected the accusation made by his former girlfriend that she was a victim of bodily harm during an argument in 2020.

The pair had a daughter in 2021, though by that time they were no longer together. In January 2023 the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) closed an investigation that was launched after another ex-girlfriend, tennis player Olga Sharypova, accused Zverev of domestic abuse.