Integrity exists not only in the game: An analysis of tennis governing bodies’ handling of Alexander Zverev’s domestic abuse allegations

This essay was awarded Commendation in the 2024 British Philosophy of Sport Association McNamee Student Essay Prize

Introduction

In May 2024, as Alexander Zverev moved forward in the French Open, he was aware that this was not the only court he had to face. Concurrently with his journey in Roland Garros, a trial over domestic abuse allegations against Zverev made by his former partner, Brenda Patea, was taking place in Berlin. In contrast to the heated discussion on tennis media and among fans on whether Zverev should still be allowed to play in a Grand Slam under such circumstances, Association of Professional Tennis Players (ATP) and International Tennis Federation (ITF), the two tennis governing bodies, stayed silent throughout the event. Amelie Mauresmo, the tournament director of the French Open, defended tennis authorities’ stance on Zverev by deferring their decisions to legal proceedings (Crane, 2024). 

Zverev eventually reached an out-of-court settlement with Patea as he made his way into the final in Roland Garros. However, this dismissal could not cease the controversy on the tennis governing bodies’ handling of the case, especially given that this was already the second time Zverev faced similar allegations. The lack of a clear response from ATP and ITF to recurrent domestic abuse allegations of a player and the ambiguity in the criteria of disciplinary penalties exhibited through their inaction cannot stand without scrutiny.

In this essay, I will present an ethical analysis of tennis governing bodies’ handling of Zverev’s domestic abuse allegations. First, I will review how ATP and ITF reacted to the accusations against Zverev and identify the problems in their proceedings. Then, I will examine how the ‘conduct contrary to the integrity of the game’ clause gives leeway to negligence in Zverev’s case. Following the critique of ATP and ITF’s rules and policy, I will discuss why a domestic abuse policy is necessary for professional tennis.

For clarity of concept, I shall explain that domestic abuse in this essay refers to a pattern of behavior in dating or family relationships that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner (United Nations, no date). Domestic abuse could be in physical, mental, economic, sexual, and other forms. The term could also be used interchangeably with ‘domestic violence’ and ‘intimate partner violence’. In the context of Zverev’s case, it’s worth noting that two of Zverev’s former partners (Olga Sharypova and Brenda Patea) have made public allegations of being physically and emotionally abused by Zverev at different times (see Rothenberg, 2021; Briggs, 2023; Connolly, 2024). However, the intention of this essay is not to examine if the accusations of Zverev are true, but to discuss the ethical issues in tennis governing bodies’ approach to domestic abuse allegations of players.

Problems with ATP and ITF’s handling of Zverev’s case

In men’s professional tennis, ITF governs Grand Slams and entry-level tournaments while ATP oversees other top-tier tournaments. Both organizations have included a ‘conduct contrary to the integrity of the game’ clause in the Player Code of Conduct (the Code), which Zverev’s situation should comply with. Despite the clause, ATP and ITF tacitly chose to take no action on Zverev and relied on court decisions for their next move. Moreover, though the allocation of responsibilities is clear between ATP and ITF, a grey area still exists in terms of domestic abuse cases.

In light of Sharypova’s initial allegations of Zverev’s abusive behavior during several ATP-governed tournaments, ATP entrusted a third-party investigator to conduct an ‘independent investigation’ into Zverev. After a 15-month process, ATP concluded that ‘no sufficient evidence’ was found to substantiate the allegations and no disciplinary actions would be taken against Zverev (ATP, 2023). ATP didn’t publicize the final report and only described how the investigation was conducted. It also remains unknown if the investigator is qualified for domestic abuse or safeguarding investigations. The transparency of the procedure appears to be a problem.

When Patea’s allegations were made public and it was revealed that Zverev would go on a trial, no further investigative actions were taken by ATP or ITF. Instead, they waited for the legal process to finish to give their comments (Maine, 2024). According to the Code, the presumption of innocence stance ATP and ITF took here is reasonable since Zverev still has the right to compete as long as he is not convicted. However, it is worth noting that the current legal system worldwide still cannot adequately police domestic abuse (Brown, 2016), and sports governing bodies deferring to the legal system for punishment could mostly lead to continuous no actions on domestic abuse (Augelli and Kuennen, 2018). Moreover, being convicted isn’t the only ‘conduct contrary to the integrity of the game’ warranting a disciplinary sanction. The Code also indicates the possibility of imposing a provisional suspension on players charged with violations of criminal or civil law (ATP, 2024, p. 245; ITF, 2024, p.22). The ambiguity of the concept ‘integrity of the game’ will be further addressed in the following section. Still, ATP and ITF already failed to comply with their own rules without offering a clear explanation of their decision.

In addition, ATP hasn’t developed a safeguarding or domestic abuse policy three years after commissioning a safeguarding report (see ATP, 2021). Though ITF already has a safeguarding policy in force, naming the player’s entourage as a covered person and identifying domestic abuse as a harm (ITF, 2023, p.23), the policy only applies to ITF-governed tournaments. For domestic abuse cases, which could take place off-court and in private spaces, this policy certainly lacks effectiveness.

When Sharypova came forward with her accusations, ATP issued a statement claiming that the association ‘condemns any form of violence or abuse’ (ATP, 2021). Contrary to what has been stated, ATP showed leniency in handling the allegations against one of its most prominent current players, and ITF’s silence was no better. ATP’s lack of transparency in the procedure, both organizations’ reliance on legal decisions for disciplinary sanctions or even making public comments on Zverev, and their failure to enforce the Code of Conduct, all create a space where domestic abuse is tolerated, rather than condemned.

Why ‘integrity of the game’ is undermined in Zverev’s case

On whether Zverev should be disciplined by tennis governing bodies, the ‘conduct contrary to the integrity of the game’ clause remains the center of debate. ATP distinguishes four types of conduct contrary to the integrity of the game in the Code: a) making publicized comments that unreasonably attack or disparage any person or group of people, a tournament, sponsor, player, official, or ATP; b) behaving in a manner severely damaging to the reputation of the sport; c) being convicted of violating criminal or civil law of any jurisdiction; d) being charged with violating criminal or civil law of any jurisdiction (ATP, 2024, p. 244). ITF doesn’t outline specific behavior in the Code, but its criteria align with ATP (ITF, 2024, p.53). Ironically, though ‘the integrity of the game’ is emphasized throughout the Code, no definition has been given.

Being accused of domestic abuse repeatedly and called for a court trial, Zverev could easily fall into the criteria b) and d) listed above. Nevertheless, Zverev is free from any type of disciplinary sanctions. The ambiguity of ‘the integrity of the game’ in the Code gives leeway to ATP and ITF’s negligence in Zverev’s case. However, ATP and ITF not identifying Zverev’s situation as contrary to the integrity of the game doesn’t mean integrity is not being threatened. Tennis governing bodies conniving domestic abuse allegations and failing to take action against them still undermines the integrity of the game.

The definition of ‘the integrity of the game’ remains vague in the rulebooks, while the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) names match manipulation and doping as the main integrity issues in tennis (ITIA, 2018). In the practical context of professional tennis, the scope of integrity goes beyond these two perspectives directly affecting the outcomes of the game. The integrity of the game is already associated with players’ off-court conduct in both rulebooks and the practice of tennis governing bodies. In the Code, ‘the integrity of the game’ is juxtaposed with the reputation of the sport (ITF, 2024, p.53; ATP, 2024, p.244). The recent disciplinary sanction on conduct contrary to the integrity of the game imposed by ATP was not for on-court misconduct but for a player breaching COVID-19 protocols (Associated Press, 2020).

Scholars have also noticed the broad yet imprecise use of ‘integrity’ in the sporting world and called for a more comprehensive understanding of the term (Cleret, McNamee, and Page, 2015; Gardiner, Parry, and Robinson, 2016). Interpersonal violence is listed as a threat to the integrity of the sport that is yet to be uncovered (Constandt et al., 2024). Domestic abuse from athletes to their entourage is even less addressed in the discussion of sports integrity. Kihl (2019) names athlete domestic violence a sport integrity violation, for it harms trust in the sporting organization. When a sporting organization is involved with domestic violence allegations against one of its most prominent athletes, not only the public trust of the organization is endangered, but different perspectives of sports integrity could also be breached.

The integrity of the sport is multi-faceted and exists on different levels. Personal integrity, competition integrity, and institutional integrity in sports are distinguished from one another, yet they’re also interconnected (McNamee and Moriconi, 2024). Meanwhile, Gardiner, Parry, and Robinson (2016) make a distinction between behavioral integrity and value-based moral integrity. This calls for taking not only the core values (e.g., justice and competition) and standards of excellence in sports but also the ‘everyday morality’ into the consideration of integrity (Gardiner, Parry, and Robinson, 2016; Australian Sports Commission, 2011, p.38).

In the context of Zverev’s case, the athlete would have failed to behave according to everyday moral values and norms if he truly committed domestic abuse behavior. Personnel who should have reacted to this case promptly breached both behavioral and moral integrity on the personal level by taking no action. ATP and ITF as sporting governing bodies also failed to show their responsibility and accountability when they could not address the allegations properly. The integrity of the game, which ATP and ITF attempted to maintain, is therefore at risk.

Incorporating a wide range of moral values in the sporting context into the concept of integrity has also been questioned for producing ‘a blunt moral instrument’ and not tackling specific ethical issues precisely (Zakhem and Mascio, 2018). It’s worth noting that moral integrity represents one facet of sports integrity, but it’s not the only layer of integrity. This argument also overlooks the commitments and responsibilities a sportsperson or a sport governing body should take. It also denies that integrity is represented through how individuals and stakeholders stand to them (Gardiner, Parry, and Robinson, 2016). Sports isn’t about the activities happening on the competing field. Off-court conduct also constitutes the entity of sports. It’s impossible for a sports governing body not to consider what values and messages it wants to convey through the representations of its players and the crucial decisions it makes.

Of course, simply re-conceptualizing ‘integrity’ is not sufficient to handle the domestic abuse issues in tennis or any sports. In the following session, I will propose that a concrete domestic abuse policy needs to be in place for sports to tackle the problem.

Calling for a domestic abuse policy in professional tennis

Though I have argued in the previous section that off-court misconduct, such as domestic abuse, should be considered in conceptualizing sports integrity, sports governing bodies are still in the process of refining their own definition of integrity. Having a framework based on integrity that can effectively discipline athletes’ behavior still seems impractical at the moment, especially in professional tennis.

Even if the notion of integrity is clearer, the ‘conduct contrary to the integrity of the game’ clause still appears to have limited binding effects on athletes, especially in the case of domestic abuse. In the National Football League (NFL) where domestic abuse has already been explicitly listed as ‘conduct detrimental to the integrity of NFL’ in the Player Conduct Policy and the Commissioner has the power to sanction such conduct no matter whether it’s convicted or not, the punishment for domestic abuse allegations has been uneven and inconsistent (Lott, 2019; Wither, 2010). There are still players who are accused of domestic violence getting away from disciplinary sanctions from the NFL or the teams (Luther, 2016). In NFL, where players are more like employees of the league and different teams and their conduct is governed by both parties, only highlighting domestic abuse in the Player Conduct Policy still lacks effectiveness. In ATP and ITF, where players are loosely associated with the organization as members, relying on the Code of Conduct to tackle domestic abuse is far from enough.

The allegations Zverev faced are not accidental in professional tennis. Before and after Zverev’s cases were revealed, several male tennis players (e.g., Nick Kyrgios, Thiago Seyboth Wild, and Nikoloz Basilashvili, see Malhotra, 2022) were charged with domestic abuse or went on trial. While ATP and ITF never provided a clear response to those cases, it has become even more obvious that professional tennis creates a high-risk environment for domestic abuse. The stories of Jelena Dokic and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni have raised awareness for minor tennis players being vulnerable to abuse from their parents and coaches in the isolating and constant traveling conditions of professional tennis (see Henderson, 2003). It should be noted that players’ entourage could also endure the same type of vulnerability. The power imbalance between the players and the entourage, especially when the entourage’s life is dependent on the player, as well as the lack of adequate policy on domestic abuse, could only place the entourage in a worse situation.

As Vanden Auweele (2015) argues, problematic behaviors in sports are only symptoms of the common grounds, which cannot be easily changed by offering ad-hoc solutions to each misconduct. The common ground for domestic abuse in professional tennis exists in the unclarity of ‘the integrity of the game’, governing bodies’ limited power in disciplining players, and the unique world tour environment. A concrete policy on domestic abuse is therefore needed to battle the common grounds for such behavior.

Conclusion

In this essay, I reviewed how ATP and ITF, the two tennis governing bodies dealt with the domestic allegations against Alexander Zverev, one of the top male tennis players. I contended that ATP and ITF choosing to stay silent and deferring to the legal system for action shows their failure to enforce the Code of Conduct and creates an environment conniving domestic abuse. I further examined the ambiguity of ‘the integrity of the game’ clause in the Code of Conduct and argued that off-court conduct, such as domestic abuse, should be considered in ‘the integrity of the game’. Concluding the analysis of ATP and ITF’s problems in handling the domestic allegations against Zverev, I propose that a domestic abuse policy should be enacted in professional tennis to create a safer and more trustworthy environment for all participants on the tennis tour.

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