Alexander Zverev has reached an out-of-court settlement with ‘no admission of guilt’ concerning a domestic abuse charge that was brought against him by a former partner.
The world No.4 went to court to contest a penalty order and a fine of $488,000 was issued to him last October. He was charged with ‘physically abusing a woman and damaging her health during an argument.’ The alleged incident took place at an Airbnb in Berlin between midnight and 2:30 a.m. on May 20 and 21, 2020. After an argument, it was claimed that the tennis star pushed Brenda Patea against a wall and strangled her with both hands. Patea is the mother of his child.
Zverev’s trial was open to the public on the first day before the judge agreed to a request to hold it behind closed doors. In a new update on Friday morning, dw.com quoted presiding judge Barbara Luders as saying that proceedings have been ‘discontinued‘ following an agreement between the two parties that has been made outside of the court.
“I think it is important to continue living without any further blame,’ said Luders. “This is what has been agreed here. It’s a good ending. It’s a success.’
Details of the settlement have not been made public and it is unknown if Zverev will play any financial compensation to Patea. However, the agreement states that there has been no admission of guilt by him.
“We are happy that an agreement has been reached,” one of Zverev’s defence lawyers commented in court. “This is for the good of the child that they have together, so it has the chance to grow up without conflict.”
A lawyer representing Patea, Kristin Hartmann, confirmed to DW that they applied for a settlement. Stating that a keyreason for doing so was because Zverev’s daughter was ‘suffering’ as a rule of the case.
Zverev’s legal team had accused Patea of being motivated by fame and money with her only interest being increasing her social media following. It was also claimed that she lied about her career and was motivated to make such allegations by a custody dispute. These claims were made before the trial went private.
“It’s not about the money. It’s about justice. That’s what she hopes for,” Patea’s lawyer, Michael Nitschke, said in response.
The agreement comes on the same day Zverev will play his semi-final match at the French Open against Casper Ruud. He is currently on an 11-match winning streak and is bidding to win his first Grand Slam title at the age of 27.
UPDATE
Following the agreement to reach a settlement, Zverev’s legal team has issued the following statement.
“As lawyers for Alexander Zverev, we declare on behalf of our client that the criminal proceedings under file number 250 Cs 184/23 have been dropped:
The criminal proceedings against Alexander Zverev were dropped and the case was terminated today by the court with the consent of the public prosecutor’s office, Ms. Brenda Patea as joint plaintiff and Alexander Zverev’s defence lawyer. The penalty order is now groundless.
Alexander Zverev has agreed to this discontinuation via his defense lawyer, solely in order to shorten the proceedings – above all in the interests of their child. Alexander Zverev is considered innocent. The dismissal does not constitute a finding of guilt or an admission of guilt. The legal presumption of innocence remains unaffected.“
