Alexander Zverev faces new legal battle as ex-girlfriend files fresh lawsuit ahead of ATP Finals
Alexander Zverev begins his ATP Finals campaign in Turin on Sunday as the World No. 1, but the buildup has been overtaken by a new legal front. Brenda Patea, his former partner and the mother of their five-year-old daughter, Mayla, has filed a civil lawsuit against him in Berlin, as reported by journalist Ben Rothenberg. The claim, lodged on September 18, concerns how Zverev has described the domestic violence proceedings that ended without a verdict in 2024.
That case dates to October 2023, when a Berlin court issued a penalty order over Patea’s allegation that Zverev pushed her against a wall and held her by the neck during an argument. The order carried a €450,000 fine, which he contested, and the trial opened in May 2024 while he was playing at Roland Garros.
It stopped the following month, before Patea was cross-examined, after a settlement under which Zverev paid €200,000, split between the German state treasury and charitable organizations. The court told the BBC the agreement “does not constitute a verdict and does not address guilt or innocence”.
Zverev, who has always denied the allegations, has read the closure as a clearing of his name. The disputed remarks came in a car interview with L’Équipe published on June 8, the day after he won his first French Open title, when the reporter Quentin Moynet asked how that title would be covered given the allegations. The German claimed that the allegations were “proven” to be false and argued his innocence before abruptly ending the interview.
Patea’s side argues that the statements misstate the record and cast her as a liar. According to the lawsuit, her Munich-based lawyer Michael Scheele wrote to Zverev on August 6, 11 and 25 asking him to confirm the L’Équipe quotes and to stop repeating them. No reply came, and the claim followed, seeking compensation and an order barring him from making the assertion again.
Speaking to Bounces, Scheele described Zverev’s statements about his innocence as “a lie.”
“Look at the facts: what he said was a lie,” Scheele said of Alexander Zverev. “And it’s not a lie because I call it a lie. The legal definition of what has happened is: he is not convicted guilty and he is not found not guilty. And since this is the case, he cannot say that it has been proven that he’s not guilty. That’s a fact, you know? And once it is in court, he will lose. If he doesn’t give in, he will lose.”
What remains open, Scheele said, is whether Alexander Zverev will also have to pay punitive damages. Christian Schertz, the World No. 1’s lawyer, told Bounces he could not comment on the substance because the claim had not yet been served on his client.
