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)
Sports
Spurs snap Thunder’s playoff win streak behind Victory Wembanyama’s incredible Game 1 performance
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The Oklahoma City Thunder came into Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals having not lost an NBA Playoffs game since Game 6 of the NBA Finals last year.
But they hadn’t faced Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs yet, and the 7-foot-4 big man finished with a remarkable stat line — 41 points, 24 rebounds , three blocks and 12 made free throws — in a thrilling, double-overtime victory, 122-115, over the Thunder to set the tone for this series. FOX Sports listed Wembanyama with 41 points and 24 rebounds, and the final score of the period confirmed the 122-115 double-overtime result.
Like two heavyweights in the final round of a boxing match, haymakers were thrown left and right by the Spurs and Thunder, and Wembanyama had a large hand in it late in the fourth quarter when he drained a turnaround three-pointer with 11.5 seconds left on the clock to give San Antonio a 101-99 lead.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs reacts during the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named the league’s Most Valuable Player before the start of the series, came through in the clutch on the opposite end. With 3.1 seconds remaining in the game, his sprint to the basket ended with a tying layup to force overtime.
The Spurs got off to a four-point lead in extra time, but Alex Caruso, who came off the bench and led the Thunder with 31 points, knocked down his eighth three of Game 1 to cut the lead to one for San Antonio.
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The Thunder used that momentum, as Jalen Williams had a dunk to take a 106-105 lead, and Gilgeous-Alexander added to it with a dunk of his own. “Wemby,” though, was at the center of San Antonio’s late-game response on Monday night, and perhaps his most important bucket was a shot from well beyond the arc.
Wembanyama took the ball from Stephon Castle and added to the guard’s assist total with a 27-foot three near the Oklahoma City logo to tie the game at 108 apiece with 27 seconds left. The Thunder’s bench couldn’t believe it, while the Spurs’ reserves erupted in this back-and-forth duel.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs dunks against Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
Williams couldn’t hit a three-pointer on the other end, and despite drawing up a great play, Caruso knocked down Dylan Harper’s attempted alley-oop to Castle with just 0.7 seconds remaining in overtime to keep the score where it was.
Needing one more extra period, Wembanyama took the game into his hands. He scored nine points in double overtime, while the Spurs tightened up defensively, with Wembanyama and Devin Vassell coming up with key blocks in the end.
Castle finished with 11 assists to lead the Spurs in that category, while rookie guard Dylan Harper made vital contributions with 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a game-high seven steals in the win. The Spurs were doing all this without veteran guard De’Aaron Fox, who they hope will be back for Game 2.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket against Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs during the first quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
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Williams had 26 points for Oklahoma City, while Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 7-of-23 shooting with 12 assists and five steals.
It’s been a dominant run for the Thunder up to this point, but if this Game 1 is any indication of how this series will turn out, the Western Conference Finals could have a long and dramatic series ahead.
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HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS
MONDAY’S RESULTS
First Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter 16, #17 Middle College 6
#20 Cleveland 20, #13 Dorsey 2
#10 North Hollywood 12, #14 USC-MAE 0
#18 Taft 13, #15 Central City Value 0
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys 19, #17 Alliance Bloomfield 2
#20 East Valley 14, #13 Community Charter 3
#14 VAAS 18, #19 Angelou 0
#15 Reseda 24, #18 Stella 0
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn 44, #17 West Adams 33
#20 Hawkins 28, #13 LAAAE 7
#14 Franklin 19, #19 Mendez 7
#18 Diego Rivera 24, #15 Discovery 8
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
First Round
DIVISION I
#16 Sherman Oaks CES at #1 Venice
#9 San Fernando at #8 Bravo
#12 Lincoln at #5 Chavez
#13 Animo Venice at #4 Chatsworth
#14 LA University at #3 Port of LA
#11 Harbor Teacher at #6 Eagle Rock
#10 Verdugo Hills at #7 Garfield
#15 LA Hamilton at #2 Marquez
Second Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter at #1 LA Marshall
#9 Northridge Academy at #8 Rancho Dominguez
#12 Fremont at #5 Symar
#20 Cleveland at #4 Narbonne
#19 North Hollywood at #3 Roosevelt
#11 Orthopaedic at #5 Arleta
#10 Sun Valley Poly at #7 South Gate
#18 Taft at #2 LA Wilson
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys at #1 Bell
#9 Palisades at #8 Hollywood
#12 Lakeview Charter at #5 South East
#20 East Valley at #4 Maywood Academy
#14 VAAS at #3 Maywood CES
#11 Westchester at #6 Torres
#10 Animo Robinson at #7 LACES
#15 Reseda at #2 Sun Valley Magnet
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn at #1 Jefferson
#9 Smidt Tech at #8 Alliance Levine
#12 Downtown Magnets at #5 University Prep Value
#20 Hawkins at #4 Huntington Park
#14 Franklin at #3 Santee
#11 Bernstein at #6 Camino Nuevo
#10 Rise Kohyang at #7 CALS Early College
#18 Diego Rivera at #2 LA Jordan
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Quarterfinals
OPEN DIVISION
#8 Granada Hills Kennedy at #1 Granada Hills
#5 El Camino Real at #4 San Pedro
#6 Wilmington Banning at #3 Birmingham
#7 Legacy at #2 Carson
Note: Division I-IV quarterfinals May 22 at higher seeds; Semifinals all divisions May 27 at higher seeds; Finals all divisions May 29-30 at TBD.
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Russell Wilson has had his share of ups and downs in his NFL career.
He helped the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship in 2013 and was named to the Pro Bowl four times. But the last few years of his career arguably did some damage to his legacy as he’s spent the last three seasons with three different teams.
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New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 9, 2025. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)
Wilson is still on the free-agent market as he looks to latch on to a new team for 2026. However, former NFL star Aqib Talib implored Wilson to hang up the cleats.
“Do your TV thing, Russ. It’s over with, man. Once you’ve got to decide, do I even want to play?” Talib said on “The Arena: Gridiron.” “I think you don’t really want to play. I hate when guys get to the later part of their career and then they start doing the bounce-around thing and they’re not going to win. There was no chip in New York. That’s just going to be another stop on your resume.”
Wilson reportedly garnered some interest from NFL teams.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson stands on the field before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Oct. 26, 2025. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
He told the New York Post that the New York Jets were one of them.
Wilson also was reportedly a candidate to take Matt Ryan’s spot on CBS’ “The NFL Today” after Ryan left to take a front office job with the Atlanta Falcons.
Wilson has 46,966 passing yards and 353 passing touchdowns in 205 career games, but the 2025 season with the New York Giants was one to forget.
Wilson started three games and made some bizarre decisions in a loss against the Chiefs. Jaxson Dart was named the starting quarterback. As he came in to take a few snaps while Dart was being checked for a concussion, Wilson was booed.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second half against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 19, 2025. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
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Should he end up signing with another team, Wilson will be entering his age-38 season.
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