Alexander Zverev has been slammed on social media after insisting ‘everything is great in my life’ despite facing serious allegations of domestic abuse by his former girlfriend Olga Sharypova.
Zverev, 23, hit the headlines last week after Sharypova claimed that she tried to commit suicide by injecting herself with insulin after being punched by the tennis star.
The world No 7 strenuously denies the allegations and was quick to defend himself in an interview after losing the final of the Paris Masters on Sunday.
Alexander Zverev claimed that he is ‘still smiling under this mask’ despite abuse allegations
Zverev’s former girlfriend Olga Sharypova (right) has claimed that the tennis star punched her
‘There are the unfounded accusations of my ex–girlfriend Olga Sharypova, which I read in the media today,’ he began. ‘They make me very sad.
‘We have known each other since we were children and shared many experiences together. I very much regret that she makes such statements because the accusations are simply not true.
‘I know that right now there are a lot of people who will be trying to wipe a smile off my face, but I’m still smiling under this mask. Everything’s great on the court and off the court. Everything is great in my life, I’m going to be a father soon.
‘Those who are trying [to wipe away the smile] can keep trying but I’m still smiling, you just can’t see under the mask.’
Zverev is expecting a child with another former girlfriend in Brenda Patea, who publicly announced her pregnancy recently.
In the wake of his controversial interview, Zverev received plenty of criticism on Twitter after some deemed his comments and timing to be insensitive.
Sharypova (pictured with Zverez) claims she tried to commit suicide after Zverev hit her
World No 7 Alex Zverev has denied the charges of abusive behaviour which surfaced last week
One user wrote: ‘The person who is able to joke and smile while being accused of serious domestic abuse… Zverev is a psychopath with literally zero empathy. I am sick to the core.’
Another Twitter user questioned why the ATP were not acting, writing: ‘Today is a good day to ask the ATP Tour again why they’re not addressing the abuse allegations against Zverev.
‘There are many people who won’t let the dust settle on this. You’re already starting to lose fans and money because of your silence.’
Sharypova, a Russian former junior player, has spoken out on a number of occasions in interviews and on social media in recent days.
Her initial allegations came last Wednesday when she claimed in an Instagram post that she had been a victim of domestic abuse.
Zverev spoke out after the Paris Masters final (pictured), which he lost to Daniil Medvedev
The world No 7 was slammed on social media, with one user labelling him a ‘psychopath’
‘I want to tell one very personal and very hard story for me that I have already experienced and left in the past,’ she wrote.
‘I was a victim of domestic abuse! The first time this happened at the beginning of this relationship, there was a quarrel and I got hit with my head against the wall with so much power that I sat on the floor.
‘In August of that year, I ran out of the hotel barefoot. I was standing on the streets of New York and didn’t know where to go and what to do.
‘They tried to choke me with a pillow, hit my head against the wall, twisted my hands and at that moment I was really afraid for my life.’
In a recent interview with America’s Racquet magazine, she said of her relationship with Zverev: ‘We had another fight, and in that fight he punched me in the face for the first time.
Another Twitter user questioned why the ATP Tour aren’t addressing the abuse allegations
Sharypova posted on her Instagram story that she knew she was the one telling the truth after she claimed he had hit her head against a wall and had tried to choke her at last year’s US Open
‘In other fights he was pushing me, shoving me, twisting my arms, choking me. But this was the first time he punched me, really punched me.’
After Zverev refuted the claims on social media, Sharypova herself took to Instagram to give her thoughts, writing: ‘My story just started. “Simply not true”. I don’t know if you wrote it or whoever is handling your Instagram, but to this day you had no courage to explain yourself directly,.
‘Because I’m not lying and we both know it. I’m not afraid to tell the truth, are you?
‘I want to show all men, that let themselves act badly towards women, that we are not an accessory, we are not +1, we are not dolls, you can’t do whatever you like.
‘And if you thought I’d be quiet after all I’ve been through in that relationship, you were wrong. You failed to give me answers personally. So I did the same.’
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