Tennis star Alexander Zverev on Friday has again denied allegations of past domestic abuse from his former partner and is threatening legal action following her detailed interview with a website.
Olga Sharypova, Zvervev’s former partner, first revealed she had been the victim of domestic violence in a in a since-deleted Instagram post last October. She later identified the perpetrator as Zverev to a Russian website and said he had attempted to strangle her with a pillow and hit her head against the wall while in a New York hotel room ahead of the 2019 US Open.
Sharypova said she feared for her life.
In an interview with Slate.com that was published Wednesday, Sharypova, a former junior tennis player, revealed other allegations of physical and verbal abuse by Zverev, including an alleged incident in which he told her he wished she would die.
Zverev, the Olympic gold medalist who is currently ranked No. 4 after winning the Cincinnati Masters, issued a statement Friday, calling the allegations “defamatory and false” and said he would be pursuing legal action against the source and the author of the piece.
“I have engaged my German and American lawyers in the matter,” Zverev wrote in a statement on Twitter. “They have already obtained a preliminary injunction against the source and the author who published the false allegations. … I categorically and unequivocally deny having abused Olya. I also fully support the creation of an ATP domestic violence policy. I will not address this matter any further.”
Zverev is scheduled to speak to the media on Friday afternoon as part of mandatory obligations at the US Open, where he was a finalist last year. The tournament begins Monday.