Sport has a habit of sweeping things under the carpet when it suits. Look at soccer’s ruling body, FIFA, turning a blind eye to the …
Sport has a habit of sweeping things under the carpet when it suits. Look at soccer’s ruling body, FIFA, turning a blind eye to the deaths of 6,500 migrant workers who’ve been building stadiums for their World Cup in Qatar next year. Or those pro golfers conveniently forgetting their concern for widespread human-rights abuses to go pick up another paycheck for a tournament in Saudi Arabia. Tennis is no different. At the recent Olympics in Tokyo, Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili faced each other in the third round of the men’s singles competition and while Zverev prevailed and went on to win the gold medal, you would have been forgiven for not knowing that both men stand accused of domestic abuse from their former partners. The latter will soon face trial in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, for assaulting his ex-wife. The professional Tour’s governing body, the ATP, is finding it increasingly difficult to subdue this elephant in the room. While they can leave Basilashvili’s case to the courts for now, Zverev’s situation is a lot thornier. Aged 24, the German is the golden boy of men’s tennis and tipped to dominate the game once the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic finally move on into the sunset. Young, handsome and extremely talented, he has been front and center in the ATP’s promotional campaigns in recent years while also landing lucrative endorsements with the likes of Peugeot, Adidas, Rolex and Italian fashion house Zegna. Put simply, he is every inch the marketer’s dream.
