Sports
Alexander Zverev keeps winning. But nobody wants to talk about his domestic abuse trial
This is getting awkward.
Alexander Zverev, the German tennis star set to face trial in May on a domestic abuse charge, keeps dicing with elimination from the Australian Open, which would save the sport from a subject that no one wants to talk about.
Then the world No 6 staves off defeat, escaping tight tiebreakers and five-set battles every other day. Zverev, 26, raises his arms. He answers chummy questions from a tennis personality — questions that never hint at the allegations and the upcoming trial in Berlin.
That’s what happened today (Monday) when Zverev won a fifth-set tiebreaker for the second time in a week, beating the British No 1 Cameron Norrie, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3). It was a tight, nervy duel in which Zverev’s big serve, as fierce as ever in the final stages, won it for him.
Zverev, who this month became a member of the ATP Player Council, which serves as the voice of players on the men’s tour, will face the world No 2, Carlos Alcaraz, in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. Minutes after his victory against Norrie, Zverev and interviewer Nicholas Monroe, a retired doubles player, were leading the Margaret Court Arena in singing Happy Birthday to Zverev’s father.
The charges are also rarely discussed on his televised matches, even though this is the second time that a former girlfriend has accused Zverev of physical abuse. The first led to a 15-month investigation, which concluded early last year and found “insufficient evidence to substantiate published allegations of abuse”. On both occasions, Zverev has denied any wrongdoing.
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The latest allegations come from Brenda Patea, the mother of Zverev’s daughter Mayla. In media interviews and claims filed with German legal authorities, she has alleged that Zverev pushed her against a wall and choked her during an argument in 2020. Patea said she told friends about the incident at the time but did not report it to police until October 2021 because of a mixture of shame and concern for their daughter, who was born in March 2021.
In October, a criminal court in Berlin issued a penalty order, fining Zverev nearly $500,000 (£393,000) in connection with Patea’s charges. In Germany, a prosecutor can seek a penalty order on cases it considers simple because there is compelling evidence that should not require a trial. The defendant has a right to contest the order, which Zverev has.
Speaking at the Paris Masters in November, Zverev described the penalty order as “complete bulls***”, adding, “Anybody that has a semi-standard IQ level knows what this is all about.” The player did not expand on the reasons for his objection. “I’m not going to comment on that to be honest because there is a procedure still to come,” he said.
A trial has been scheduled for late May, at the same time as the French Open. Zverev is not required to attend the trial and said last week he does not know if he will. His lawyers have called the legal process “scandalous” and said Zverev would take action “using all means possible”. The player will be considered innocent until a final ruling is made.
Another former girlfriend, the Russian former tennis player Olya Sharypova, said that Zverev repeatedly abused her in 2019 in New York, Shanghai, Monaco and Geneva. Unlike Patea, Sharypova never involved the criminal justice system, making her allegations in a lengthy article in the online magazine Slate and on social media.
The ATP decided to take no further action in January 2023 following a 15-month independent investigation that included extensive interviews with Zverev, Sharypova, and 24 others including family, friends and other players, as well as analysis of text messages, audio files and photographs. The investigation, carried out by the third party The Lake Forest Group, decided there was not enough evidence to substantiate Sharypova’s allegations.
Zverev has always denied any wrongdoing and said that the only people who are suggesting there is anything inappropriate about his participation in this tournament, on the tour and the Player Council, are members of the press.
“Journalists are saying that — some who are actually interested more in this story to write about and more about the clicks than the actual truth,” Zverev said last week.
Days after he made that statement, Sloane Stephens, the former U.S. Open champion who recently stepped down from the WTA Player Council, said someone facing trial on domestic abuse charges probably would not be representing players in the WTA.
“The ATP kind of beats their own drum,” Stephens said. “They do what they do on that side.”
Sloane Stephens was a member of the WTA Player Council (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
“It’s a difficult situation,” Stephens added. “Someone very prominent in our sport… I think now that he will be going to trial and be facing whatever he is facing (the issue may be put to rest).”
Zverev has continued to play throughout the investigations and legal wrangling because the ATP does not have a policy prohibiting it. The other main governing bodies in tennis that could be involved — the four Grand Slams and the International Tennis Federation — have followed the tour’s lead and decided to let the legal process wind its way through the courts before coming to any decision.
Asked on Monday why he had wanted to join the Player Council and what issues he wanted to focus on, Zverev ticked off several matters related to the structure of the tour and the playing demands that athletes face.
“Playing for 11 months a year is too much,” he said. Adding events to the tour “is maybe getting a bit out of hand and a bit too much, as well. There’s just all of those discussions. But they’re very nice discussions. Nobody’s fighting in there, nobody’s screaming or shouting. We are all there to achieve the same thing and have a better tour”.
He did not mention safeguarding, or the accusations leveled against him in the past three years.
At this Australian Open, no one wants to talk about it.
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(Top photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
CITY SECTION
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
At Birmingham High
DIVISION III
#2 Hawkins (10-2) vs. #1 Santee (9-4), 2 p.m.
DIVISION II
#2 San Fernando (10-3) vs. #1 Cleveland (5-8), 6 p.m.
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
At Southwest College
DIVISION I
#5 Marquez (11-2) vs. #2 South Gate (10-3), 2 p.m.
OPEN DIVISION
#6 Crenshaw (10-1) vs. #1 Carson (8-3), 6 p.m.
SOUTHERN SECTION
(Games at 7 p.m. unless noted)
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
DIVISION 1
Santa Margarita (9-3) vs. Corona Centennial (11-1) at Rose Bowl
DIVISION 3
Oxnard Pacifica (13-0) at Palos Verdes (10-3)
DIVISION 7
Barstow (9-3) at Apple Valley (9-4)
DIVISION 8
Beckman (10-3) at Brea Olinda (10-3)
DIVISION 12
Santa Paula (8-5) at Grace (10-3)
DIVISION 13
Woodbridge (5-8) at Montebello (7-6)
DIVISION 14
South El Monte (9-4) at Pioneer (7-6)
8-MAN
DIVISION 1
Flintridge Prep (9-0) at Cornerstone Christian (11-0)
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
DIVISION 2
Los Alamitos (11-2) at San Clemente (9-4)
DIVISION 4
La Habra (10-3) at San Jacinto (10-3)
DIVISION 5
Rio Hondo Prep (13-0) at Redondo Union (9-4)
DIVISION 6
Ventura (11-2) at St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy (7-6)
DIVISION 9
Ramona (11-2) at Cerritos Valley Christian (10-3)
DIVISION 10
Tahquitz (10-3) at Hillcrest (8-5)
DIVISION 11
Baldwin Park (8-5) at Valley View (8-5)
8-MAN
DIVISION 2
Lancaster Baptist (9-3) at Cate (5-7), 1 p.m.
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The Seattle Seahawks came away with their eighth win of the season on Sunday, and once again, it was star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba playing a large role in the victory.
This time, though, Smith-Njigba, the NFL’s leader in receiving yards, made some Seahawks history in the process.
The second-year receiver out of Ohio State set the single-season franchise record for receiving yards after totaling 167 in the 30-24 victory.
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Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates after defeating the Tennessee Titans in the game at Nissan Stadium on Nov. 23, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
Coming into the game, Smith-Njigba needed 150 yards to break D.K. Metcalf’s record of 1,303, which he set in 2020. After Sam Darnold found his favorite target for a 63-yard touchdown in the second quarter, it was not only another deep touchdown connection between the two, but it made it quite possible that Smith-Njigba would break Metcalf’s record in just his 11th game of the season.
Smith-Njigba later reached the yardage needed in the third quarter, and that total is only expected to grow with six games left in the regular season.
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It was clear that Smith-Njigba was going to be a great receiver in the league when he tallied 100 receptions for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns during his rookie campaign in 2024. But with a new quarterback in Darnold — Geno Smith was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason — there were questions entering the year about whether the offense would look the same.
Darnold has proven to be the right fit for Klint Kubiak’s offense, and Smith-Njigba has set a new career high in touchdowns and appears poised to shatter his receptions total as well.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates after catching a pass for a touchdown in the second quarter of the game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on Nov. 23, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
It’s worth noting that Metcalf was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason, partly due to Smith-Njigba’s emergence as a top pass-catching option during his rookie season.
The Seahawks also announced that Smith-Njigba has moved into the league record books. He now has the fifth-most receiving yards through the first 11 games of a season in the Super Bowl era, passing the great Julio Jones on that list.
No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans’ offense made things interesting late, as Chimere Dike caught a touchdown to bring them within six points in the fourth quarter. But Seattle’s defense, which has been a solid unit all season, came through in the end.
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Smith-Njigba finished the game with two touchdowns for Seattle, while Zach Charbonnet added a rushing score for the Seahawks.
Smith-Njigba will look to add to his single-season total next Sunday when the Seahawks return home to host the Minnesota Vikings.
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During practice Friday, UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close made it clear she wanted to see more from forward Angela Dugalic.
“You’re not using what you’ve earned,” Close recalled telling her while speaking with reporters Friday.
Dugalic is going to face some of the best players in the country this week. Close thinks she can match up with them, but she needs Dugalic to play like it. With all the work Dugalic has done on her low-post game over the offseason, she can’t settle for floating around the perimeter.
Close won’t let her.
“I just want her to be all she can be,” Close said. “She’s been an animal down there in the low post, and I want her to hunt for that. I don’t want her to settle for playing on the perimeter when she’s got a whole lot more tools in her toolbox that she’s not accessing.”
Close got that version of Dugalic in Sunday’s 88-37 rout of Southern at Pauley Pavilion. The third-ranked Bruins were in full control from whistle to whistle, even pitching a second-quarter shutout, and Dugalic led the way with 20 points, five rebounds and an assist. She shot eight for 15 from the floor with a trio of three-pointers.
It was pure dominance by UCLA. The Bruins shot 51% from the field while holding the Jaguars to 29%. They outrebounded Southern by 30. They forced 13 turnovers, nine in the first half, and scored 28 points off them. And on the offensive end, UCLA was flowing with 24 assists to Southern’s nine.
Gabriela Jaquez added eight rebounds, six points and five assists. Her first basket, a layup after cutting through the paint in the second quarter, gave the senior guard her 1,000th career point. Kiki Rice had 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Lauren Betts finished with 15 points and six rebounds.
Dugalic opened the scoring for UCLA with a midrange jumper followed by a fast-break layup. She finished the first half with 12 points, tied for the team lead with freshman forward Lena Bilic, who finished the game with 14 points.
Despite Dugalic’s strong start, Close issued her another challenge at halftime.
“I just want you to focus on making the right basketball play,” Close said. “What’s the defense doing? I didn’t think she was reading the defense. I thought she shot it well, and I thought she got some great rebounds, but I didn’t think she was in the flow that we’ve been seeing from her the last few days and our last few games.”
Close added that she thinks Dugalic is playing some of the best basketball of her career, and she’s continuously fighting to raise her standard. It’s not about how many points Dugalic scores, it’s about her decision-making, her defense, her consistency.
The Bruins entered the second quarter with a 22-9 lead thanks to a 14-2 run over the final six minutes of the first quarter after holding Southern (1-4) scoreless during the final three minutes. UCLA then exploded for a 27-0 run in the second quarter while holding the Jaguars scoreless for the entire period. It was the first time the Bruins held an opponent scoreless for an entire quarter since Dec. 5, 2021 against San José State.
Still, Close wasn’t satisfied.
During halftime, Close said she reminded the Bruins of what they want to accomplish. Close wrote down a list of “passion plays,” or goals for every player for the second half.
UCLA guard Kiki Rice controls the ball in front of Southern forward DeMya Porter during the first half of the Bruins’ win Sunday at Pauley Pavilion.
(Ethan Swope / Associated Press)
It’s part of a mentality Close is trying to instill in her players. They know a 51-point win against an unranked Southern team isn’t going to give them the feedback they need.
“Outcomes are actually a distraction,” Close said, referencing legendary Alabama football coach Nick Saban. “What are the processes that we’re going to be committed to that are going to actually lead us to where we want to go?”
UCLA (6-0) will face No. 4 Texas on Wednesday in the Players Era Women’s Championship in Las Vegas, followed by either No. 2 South Carolina or Duke on Thanksgiving. The Bruins then will host No. 15 Tennessee on Nov. 30.
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