German court drops Zverev assault case after settlement

A German court on Friday dropped a case against Alexander Zverev over allegations he assaulted his ex-girlfriend, after a settlement was agreed hours before he was due to play in the semi-final of the French Open.
Zverev’s former partner, Brenda Patea, “was no longer interested in pursuing the prosecution”, said Inga Wahlen, the deputy spokeswoman for the Berlin criminal courts.
The plaintiff and the tennis star had decided “they would like to resolve this smouldering conflict peacefully, also in the interests of their child”, she said.
The appeal hearing opened last week in Berlin but Zvereb had been absent from the proceedings.
As part of the settlement announced on Friday, Zverev had agreed to pay €200,000 ($217,000), with most of it going into state coffers and the remainder to a fund for charitable organisations, the court spokeswoman said.
The German had already been fined €450,000 ($490,000) in October in the same case.
He was accused of “briefly” choking Patea “with both hands” in May 2020, according to the court.
The alleged incident took place in the stairwell of her apartment building in the capital, the court said.
Patea is said to have suffered “difficulty breathing and significant pain” as a result of the assault.
Zverev rejected the accusations and lodged an appeal.
After Friday’s settlement was announced, his lawyers stressed he was “still considered innocent”.
The sportsman’s lawyers had said the criminal complaint, filed over a year after the incident, was linked to a dispute over custody and maintenance payments in relation to the couple’s daughter.
Patea’s lawyer, however, rejected suggestions the trial was just about money.