Tennis must take a stand on violence against women, after protester interrupts Alexander Zverev at Australian Open

Before the men’s singles final at this year’s Australian Open, a female fan named “Nina” faced a dilemma familiar to many women who love men’s sports. A self-described “true” tennis fan, Nina was eager to witness the world’s top two male players compete on the same court.

However, the world’s number two ranked player, Alexander “Sascha” Zverev, had been accused of domestic violence by two former partners, Olya Sharypova and Brenda Patea. Patea, who is also the mother of Zverev’s child, made her accusations in 2023, and the two ultimately reached an out-of-court settlement. Zverev has denied the allegations, and the settlement included no admission of wrongdoing and no criminal judgment against him.

Sharypova made her allegations in a 2020 interview with Racquet Magazine journalist Ben Rothenberg, but she chose not to pursue the matter through the criminal justice system. Zverev has consistently denied the accusations, calling them “baseless” and “simply not true” when they first surfaced five years ago. In 2023, Zverev reiterated, “I have always maintained my innocence and denied the baseless allegations made against me from the beginning.” Nina explained to journalist Ben Rothenberg that her dilemma was, “How do I show that I don’t support Sascha?”

Ultimately, Nina decided to attend the match but chose to speak for those who are often silenced. As Zverev prepared to take the microphone after losing in straight sets to Jannik Sinner, Nina shouted the same phrase three times: “Australia believes Olya and Brenda!” It was a courageous act. James Rogers stated on The Body Serve podcast, “It was just a person believing in something and having to do something that scared her because she believed in it.”

However, Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley had a different view. He told 3AW, “That incident ruined it for everyone (the final).” He added, “If people are going to do that, they can stay away. If they come and do that, we will remove them.” Nina was taken away, and police escorted her from the Melbourne Park venue. “It was the right thing to do because it disrupted the positive enjoyment of other fans,” Tiley added.

The incident raises several disturbing questions for the sport, including how tennis can condemn violence against women while simultaneously suppressing protests made in their name. Currently, the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) has no policy on domestic violence allegations, meaning players can compete even when accused of serious offenses. Andy Murray raised this issue four years ago, calling for the tour to be “proactive” about the “extremely serious” allegations against Zverev. He stated in 2020, “This is something the sport should be looking into so the ATP knows what to do in those situations rather than having to think and react.”

In the absence of such a policy, the sport could be accused of turning a blind eye to an issue that should be a priority for the organizers of the Australian Open. Commentator and former world number four Jelena Dokic, a regular presence at this year’s event, has become increasingly open about her own experiences of abuse at the hands of her father. Dokic has publicly acknowledged struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts, and she has stated numerous times that telling her story has saved her life. In this context, the sport needs to find a way to facilitate conversations about violence against women, even when those conversations relate to allegations rather than convictions.

The sport may also need to suspend players facing serious domestic violence allegations, as other sports do. For example, the NRL (National Rugby League) introduced a “no-fault stand down” policy in 2019, where players are automatically suspended if they face serious charges that could carry a maximum penalty of 11 years or more in prison. At the time, Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter Beattie said the policy was not about being popular, but “sending a clear message that the sport cannot tolerate violence against women or children.” It is this perceived double standard that prompted Nina’s protest: she told Ben Rothenberg, “Sascha has been able to go about his business as normal and be celebrated and cheered on the world stage. Part of me is thinking, is that because most people just don’t really care about the voices and well-being of victims?”

Tennis, like any other sport, does not exist in a vacuum, and the issue of violence against women in Australia is not going away. 2024 has been one of the worst years on record for gendered violence in Australia, with Destroy The Joint reporting that 78 women have been killed by men. This number is up from 64 women killed in 2023 and 56 women killed in 2022. In cases recorded between 2012 and 2023, 75% of victims knew their alleged perpetrators. Not only is the problem not going away, it’s getting worse. So too is gender inequality, a well-established driver of violence against women.

Until last year, Australia was in freefall on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index – a key benchmark for measuring gender equality – slipping from 18th to 43rd in the world. Protest is a powerful mechanism through which the voices of marginalized groups can be expressed. It is a well-known fact that the criminal justice system rarely delivers just outcomes for women who have experienced domestic violence. In the context of sport, too many alleged or convicted perpetrators remain in the system, seemingly with their reputations “intact.” Nina’s cries exposed these double standards.

Yet, domestic violence is one of the most difficult issues to talk about in the sporting and media worlds. By saying their names – Olya and Brenda – Nina cleverly provided an opportunity for journalists to remind the public who these women are. We are often reluctant to say the names of alleged perpetrators because of the ever-present threat of defamation lawsuits. By pushing their names into the news cycle, we are responsible for re-examining the allegations of violence against Zverev, which have largely been overlooked in favor of a focus on “on-court” prowess, as if sport can be separated from politics.

In the absence of leadership from the sporting world, it is left to people like Nina to sound the alarm, reminding people what it feels like to choose between a game they love and the idea that they are complicit in a culture that ignores violence against women. It’s a dilemma that women know all too well. It’s a dilemma they face every time they engage with men’s sports.