The ATP will take no action against Alexander Zverev after a 15-month investigation into allegations of domestic abuse found “insufficient evidence”.
The 25-year-old German, currently ranked 14 in the world, was accused of domestic abuse by his former girlfriend, Olya Sharypova, in 2020.
An independent investigation began in October 2021 which focused on alleged abuse at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai in 2019, as well as other locations including Monaco, New York and Geneva.
However, it was unable to substantiate the allegations and as a result no disciplinary action will be taken by the ATP, the governing body announced on Tuesday.
ATP chief executive Massimo Calvelli said in a statement: “The seriousness and complexity of these allegations required an extremely thorough investigative process and considerable resources.
“It also required us to turn to specialist investigators, which was new ground for ATP.
“We ultimately believe the exhaustive process was necessary to reach an informed judgement.
The seriousness and complexity of these allegations required an extremely thorough investigative process and considerable resources.— ATP chief executive Massimo Calvelli
“It has also shown the need for us to be more responsive on safeguarding matters. It is the reason we’ve taken steps in that direction, with a lot of important work still ahead.”
Zverev, who rose to world number two last year, has played just one tournament since suffering a serious ankle injury against Rafael Nadal at the French Open in June.
He was beaten in the second round of the Australian Open by Michael Mmoh earlier this month.
In a statement, Zverev said: “From the beginning, I have maintained my innocence and denied the baseless allegations made against me. I welcomed and fully cooperated with the ATP’s investigation and am grateful for the organisation’s time and attention in this matter.
“This decision marks a third, neutral, third-party arbiter who has reviewed all relevant information and made a clear and informed decision on this matter in my favor. In addition to the ATP’s independent investigation, I have also initiated court proceedings in Germany and Russia, both of which I have won.
“I am grateful that this is finally resolved and my priority now is recovering from injury and concentrating on what I love most in this world — tennis.
“I want to thank my friends, family and fans for their ongoing support. We followed the long and difficult process and justice has prevailed.”
