‘She was disruptive…’: Australian Open boss defends Alexander Zverev after heckler serves domestic abuse reminder

Alexander Zverev lost to Jannik Sinner in straight sets in his third-ever Grand Slam final, on Sunday. The German crumbled to a 3-6, 6(4)-7(7), 3-6 defeat at the Australian Open 2025 men’s singles final. The German was visibly broken after his defeat, and even Sinner consoled him. Alexander Zverev gives a speech during the trophy ceremony after losing the final against Jannik Sinner.(REUTERS)

Then during the post-match ceremony, controversy hit Zverev as a woman in the crowd interrupted his runners-up speech. Her face wasn’t shown, but her words were clear due to the silence of the court.

The woman exclaimed, “Australia believes Olga and Brenda” thrice before the crowd noise silenced her. Olga and Brenda are Zverev’s former partners who accused him of domestic violence. Zverev didn’t respond to the spectator but was visibly taken aback as he didn’t expect it.

Australian Open defends Alexander Zverev

Meanwhile, Australian Open boss Craig Tiley rushed to the German’s defence. Speaking on Monday, he said, “I thought that Alex Zverev gave us all a lesson on how you respond to disruption and he has moved.

“He has got a great deal of humility and empathy behind the scenes. He treats the staff extremely well. And we talk about Sascha and our experience with him and it is a very special one.

“She was disruptive to the players in that instance, to the rest of the fans that were enjoying the rest of the final, rightly so, she should be evicted because we don’t tolerate behaviour that is designed to be disruptive and that’s what her behaviour was designed to do,” he added.

Meanwhile, Zverev had an angry response during the post-match conference, when he was asked about the spectator’s words. He said, “I think there are no more accusations. There have not been for the last 9 months now. Look, good for her. I think she was the only one in the stadium who believed anything in that moment. Good for her. I think I have done everything I can, and I am not about to open up that subject once again.”

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