Cast your mind back to last month in Acapulco and Alexander Zverev’s name was talk of the tennis world after he was expelled from the tournament, after lashing out at umpire Alessandro Germani, with verbal abuse and attacking the umpire’s chair with his racquet.
The fact of the matter is that he was just inches away from Alessandro Germani’s leg and could have caused him serious injury.
Following this incident during the doubles tournament, Zverev was fined $40,000 (£31,000) and lost his prize money in Acapulco.
The ATP after investigating the matter, gave him an eight-week suspended ban and a further fine of $25,000 (£19,000).
For a multi-millionaire athlete, this is mere pocket money.
And to the angst of tennis commentators and fans across the world, this was simply a slap on the wrist.
Tennis legend Mats Wilander said this: “If a player breaks his racquet on the umpire’s chair and is literally a few centimetres away from hitting the umpire’s leg, he should not be allowed to get on a tennis court until he has gone through some kind of rehab.
We need to punish him accordingly, and allowing him to come out and play professional tennis the week after or two weeks after, that is too soon,” the Swede told Eurosport.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion added: “To me, money does not do it, and I think you either give someone with that behaviour a three-month suspension or a six-month suspension.
You do not allow him to play the most important tournaments on his calendar,” he said.
To be fair, Wilander makes some very valid points and that the ATP should be more proactive on serious incidents such as this.
Many across the sport wanted to see a much stronger punishment, for example, a 3-month ban of the entirety of March, April, and May.
Which would have ruled Zverev out of Indian Wells, Miami Open, Monte Carlo Masters, Barcelona Open, Munich Open, Madrid Masters 1000, Italian Open and the French Open.
Or at the very minimum a 2-month ban incorporating the final two hard-court Masters 1000 events (Indian Wells and Miami) and the April schedule.
This would have meant Zverev would miss half of the clay-court season and return at the Madrid Masters in May, which would have been a reasonable outcome.
However, it appears that the world number three has sufficient clout that he has indeed welded to his advantage.
Because on the face of it, he has escaped justice.
The punishment is now financial, which in the grand scheme of things is peanuts to someone earning so much, and continuing to earn a lot by participating at tournaments in March and April that he arguably should not have been permitted to play at.
So, Zverev has effectively won and his behaviour has not had a lasting consequence at all.
An own goal on behalf of the ATP who have again failed to exert absolute authority.
A suspended ban, means that once that two months is up, Zverev can smash his racquet, abuse an umpire again, and another incident can occur, and again nothing will come of it.
For a player so talented, Wilander makes a very assertion regarding the possibility of rehabilitation.
The other scary notion is that the allegations of domestic assault against Zverev to his ex-girlfriend Olga Sharypova, dating back to September 2020, 18 months ago in New York, uncovered by journalist Ben Rothenberg, could well be true based on what we have seen in Acapulco.
We saw Zverev wield a ferocious temper, and, one that does not help plead his case.
This appeared to be the real him.
Again, this makes the ATP look bad that they have again not reprimanded one of their top players.
At this time, order and authority and judgement is needed now more than ever.
For the sake of Zverev’s own career, he cannot keep being bailed out of trouble or the problem to be swept under the rug.
Lasting fundamental punishment is needed, not a watered-down outcome that promises little change.
Journalist Simon Briggs for The Telegraph said: “You’ve got to ask, what did he need to do to be suspended? Break the umpire’s leg? Draw blood?”
We all know that Zverev comes from a very connected and privileged background but as Serena Williams said, had that been her or anyone else, for example, a much lesser ranked player of lesser influence, they would certainly have had a much greater ban and punishment for the same actions.
Now Zverev is in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open with a top-ten match up against Norwegian, Casper Rudd.
However, his opponent might be right to think, ‘hang on, this match shouldn’t even be happening.’
Whichever way you look at it, Zverev himself will probably admit he is very lucky to be out there competing at such prestigious events.
Let’s hope what happened in Acapulco and other controversies will not see history repeat itself, but with Zverev nothing is guaranteed.
