For Zverev's Full Story, Read All About It
Because as the French Open broadcasts showed, the reality will not be televised.
As I’d foreshadowed in the days before, I ultimately recused myself from watching or covering the men’s final on Sunday at Roland Garros, and have not regretted that decision.
But I have been fascinated by how the dust has settled from the final big match of the clay season, and wanted to discuss the media side of the landscape here at Bounces.
There’s a tendency to talk about “tennis media” as a monolith, which has always been lazy and simplistic given the diversity of outlets and people in that category.
The disparity between the ethos and ethics of the broadcast and written sides of the aisle has never been clearer to me than in the last three days. Specifically, the ways each side is willing or unwilling to tell the story of the sport have been cast in stark relief by their completely different approaches to the issue of French Open champion Alexander Zverev and the history of domestic violence accusations against him.
Let’s start with the broadcast side, which is quicker to summarize: from what I have heard about the French, British, and American broadcasts of the French Open, there was zero mention or allusion to any of that part of Zverev’s biography on any television broadcast. This is across the many hours of television coverage of him before, during, or after the final—or at any other point in the two-week tournament.
Because references to these stories were completely and conspicuously absent, the millions of television viewers who might not have had prior knowledge of those episodes were left completely in the dark. Grand Slam finals, particularly, have a much greater percentage of casual tennis viewers in the audience; these unfamiliar audiences were presented with nothing about Zverev except for the sympathetic story of a player whose years of futility finally ended in triumph.
This loud silence is a familiar sound to tennis television audiences, of course. I was listening particularly attentively to ESPN during the 2021 U.S. Open, which began days after my second interview with Olya Sharypova was published. Over the dozens of hours in which Zverev’s matches were on their airwaves, the network never mentioned the fresh accusations once. ESPN’s entire fortnight of tournament coverage acknowledged Sharypova’s accusations only once, in a two-minute pre-recorded segment by ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap that aired during an off-peak women’s doubles match.
The Canadian ATP player Milos Raonic, who was watching that 2021 tournament at home while injured, spoke with frustration about the ATP’s nonreaction—“I’m embarrassed and disappointed in the ATP and the other governing bodies’ response to this situation”—as well as the ESPN coverage of that tournament. Raonic, who had tweeted a facepalm emoji to ESPN’s account after one glowing segment on Zverev, understood the importance of publicly recognizing the issue. “At least it should be acknowledged,” Raonic told Rolling Stone. “I don’t know if it has been.”
It had been, albeit only by one tennis broadcaster who hadn’t been on ESPN for years. Mary Carillo had brought the accusations up on-air during NBC’s broadcast of Zverev’s gold-medal win at the Tokyo Olympics weeks earlier—and during her work on the 2021 U.S. Open’s world feed broadcasts—but her willingness to do so was the exception to the rule. Broadcast personnel—on-air talent and producers alike—clearly were averse to attempting any mention of the issues looming over Zverev.
Five years later, with Zverev getting his biggest spotlight ever, the reticence remained—albeit on different networks. The only moment of any Zverev-related friction on a 2026 French Open broadcast, to my knowledge, had nothing to do with any of the accusations. As he held his trophy during a post-match interview with TNT, Zverev mocked Sam Querrey for lacking the championly résumé of other pundits at the network’s desk when it was Querrey’s turn to ask a question: “Sam who? Why are you on this channel? Who hired you?”
Querrey smiled and laughed off the dickish slights without bristling too visibly, and Zverev then explained to the audience that the two had a “love-hate” relationship that he enjoyed. (Zverev’s lingering animus toward Querrey, I’ve been told, began last year after Zverev felt slighted by Querrey not including him in his famous ATP “Hottie” bracket.)
I mention the Querrey moment mostly because it struck me as a vivid example of how tennis television presenters are expected to act in a certain amicable, deferential way to athletes in order to maintain the smooth running of the machine that keeps everyone aboard well-paid and happy.
The News That’s Fit to Print
For writers at independent outlets who are less directly attached to the teat of corporate tennis, there’s no such requirement for congenial complicity when presented with a subject they cannot face with an empty smile.
There have been many English-language examples of critical Zverev coverage in recent days from which to choose, including from some of the biggest outlets.
“This result is uncomfortable for many fans and spectators around the world,” Tumaini Carayol wrote of Zverev’s win at The Guardian.
“Zverev’s ongoing quest for an elusive first Grand Slam title has divided fans and raised questions,” Charlie Eccleshare wrote at The Athletic, adding that “the discontinuation of Zverev’s case two years ago, with a decision that was ‘not a verdict’ and ‘not a decision about guilt or innocence,’ has essentially left tennis in limbo.”
There are also a couple of bits from other Substacks which I wanted to highight.
At Hard Court, Jessica Schiffer wrote a great piece before the final about how uncomfortable Zverev’s story has been for the few brands which have chosen to partner with him, particularly Adidas:
Some [Adidas] employees reportedly cringe whenever the brand has to heavily feature or promote Zverev, not because they question his talent as an athlete, but because they are uncomfortable with the baggage that accompanies him.
“We try not to center him in campaigns for obvious reasons,” one employee told me. “But posting about him is unavoidable.”
On Tennis Unfiltered, James Gray did not hold back about his view of Zverev from inside the press room, suggesting that a pessimist could correctly view Zverev’s win as “the successful completion of a whitewash that began years ago, an attempt to airbrush the image of a man who was too big to fail, and that tennis is now happy to overlook his faults because he is successful.”
Gray also expressed frustrations with having to deal with Zverev personally as a reporter (something which I’ve recused myself from doing for the last five years), including that Zverev showed up an hour late to his press conference.
“It says a lot about his popularity, or lack thereof, in the press room that tournament organisers practically had to force journalists to ask a few more questions in English to make their champion’s press conference look good,” Gray wrote.
Not a L’Team Player
The most remarkable coverage of Zverev’s win, however, has been in France itself.
William Pereira of France’s 20 Minutes wrote that the applause for Zverev in the stadium on Sunday was sharply contrasted by the reaction among the press, even describing my stated decision not to attend or watch the final as enviable.
“We would also have liked to stay home like our colleague Ben Rothenberg,” Pereira wrote. “The American journalist brought to light the domestic violence allegations against Alexander Zverev made by two different partners, notably by obtaining the testimony of the first, Olga Sharypova… Because he fought this battle alone for so long, even being dragged into court, he openly admits what the press room is thinking privately. Namely, that Zverev was the winner nobody wanted, the worst possible outcome for a Grand Slam tournament…”
I appreciate the endorsement, but I also realize that the much bigger news was how the biggest sports outlet in France has handled Zverev as a champion.
For the first time since 2005, the men’s Roland Garros champion was not front and center on the front page—à la Une—of L’Équipe, the famous French daily sports newspaper. Instead, L’Équipe highlighted a women’s handball team from Metz which had won a European championship.
Zverev was relegated to a small image in an upper corner, with a headline suggesting he “finally grew up.”
L’Équipe’s reluctance to bathe Zverev in its full glow was matched by the text within.
In a story that ran inside the paper that day, Julien Reboullet of L’Équipe wrote that while he’d “have preferred to tell, without any restraint,” about the “movie script” story of Zverev’s triumph, he could not. Zverev’s victory, Reboullet said, “doesn't overshadow the domestic violence allegations” but rather “coexists” with them.
“Everyone will have to deal with that,” Reboullet said of that tension.
Barbara Gabel of France 24 spoke with L’Équipe’s deputy editor-in-chief Frédérique Galametz, who defended the paper’s choices both for the women’s handball team and against spotlighting Zverev. Galametz said that past Roland Garros champions who had been featured on the cover had “another dimension” to themselves.
“The aura of those champions isn’t the same as Zverev’s today,” Galametz said. She added that Zverev’s overall image was considered in the decision:
“He has become a divisive figure. We always take athletes’ histories into account. Sport is not separate from society and must address issues of gender-based and sexual violence. It’s part of our mission.”
Gabel of France 24 wrote that “this approach reflects a shift in how sexist and sexual violence in sports is viewed, even if the tendency to downplay the issue remains.” The whole article, which has a lot more examples of the French coverage, is worth running through a translator if the topic of media coverage of such issues is of interest to you.
But the biggest L’Équipe splash, perhaps, came a day later. On the Monday morning after the final, L’Équipe reporter Quentin Moynet joined Zverev in a car for a ride-along interview on his way to his photoshoot with the trophy near the Eiffel Tower.
“We are neither prosecutors nor judges, but we observed a certain unease after Alexander Zverev's victory on Sunday at Roland Garros, and heard the legitimate questions about how to report on it,” Moynet began his article, before describing an interview that was “initially quite warm and cheerful but quickly turned sour.”
As the interview began, Moynet asked Zverev about a dozen questions without issue, on topics including the sleepless night of celebrations that followed his win, serving as a possible inspiration to kids with diabetes, and his desire to play for another 10 years.
But then Moynet asked about the woman, known on Bounces as Nina, who had shouted “Australia believes Olya and Brenda!” during last year’s Australian Open trophy ceremony.
Did Zverev remember this moment, Moynet asked?
“Yes.”
Did he fear it could happen again in Paris?
“No.”
After asking about the support he’d received from the Parisian crowd, Moynet asked Zverev about the consternation in the press room—well-documented, as you’ve read above—about how to handle his win, “given the domestic violence allegations against you several years ago.”
Zverev, Moynet said, cut him off mid-question this time.
“Hold on,” Zverev said. “First of all, this isn’t that kind of interview. Secondly, you know that the accusations have been proven false?”
(Ed.: Though he has consistently denied them, the accusations have not “been proven false.”)
“The question is not directly related to the accusations,” Moynet suggested.
“This is the second time you’ve asked me about this,” Zverev replied.
“The question is: do you find it unfair that the media continue to talk about it?” Moynet continued.
This time, Zverev’s agent Sergei Bubka Jr. piped up.
“That’s a question about the accusations,” Bubka said.
Moynet then used his own paper’s reticence as proof that the topic was valid.
“L’Équipe, for example, didn’t dedicate its entire front page to you,” Moynet said.
“That wasn’t my decision,” Zverev said. “I did everything I could, and my innocence has been proven.”
(Ed.: Zverev’s innocence has not “been proven.”)
Moynet then tried moving on and changing topics, asking Zverev about his plans for the next few weeks.
Zverev sighed with annoyance and didn’t answer that benign question, either.
“I don’t know,” Zverev said. “I think we should stop. It’s better that way.”
Zverev did not speak again and the car fell silent for the final five minutes or so of the ride.
“Between dark looks and cutting remarks, his entourage, present in the vehicle, clearly disapproved of our approach, and made their displeasure known,” Moynet wrote. “The journey ended in an icy silence.”
This scene was only witnessed live by a handful of people, but it sure seems a lot more compelling and relevant than anything that the television producers cooked up around Zverev for worldwide audiences this weekend.
I’m biased here, I’m sure, but I would chalk this news cycle up as a big win for writers and journalists, and a massive loss for the television side—but one which I hope they can learn from for the future. After all, as Roland Garros himself said: “Victory belongs to the most tenacious.” Gutlessness, meanwhile, gets you nowhere worth going.
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For more on the end of the French Open and Serena Williams’ return today in London, check out the latest episode of No Challenges Remaining below! -Ben
Zverev’s win left a bad taste for many of us who follow tennis closely and are aware of his history with women. Maybe more deflating was that across three networks an all star cast of players were working this match including McEnroe, Courier, Agassi and Lindsay Davenport. Not one of them opined on his history. It was a huge fail and very disappointing.
Thank you Ben for continuing to do your coverage of AZ how you have done it for the French Open. I do certainly find it odd when watching on tv that it never seems to get mentioned and that AZ is just some big underdog story of the man who had these on court issues only with no mention to his off court issues at all.
As an Aussie, I'm proud of how Nina acted during the 2025 AO Men's Final Ceremony and wish there was similar scenes for AZ's French Open Ceremony.