Since 2005, French magazine L'Equipe has donned its cover with the men's winner of the French Open every year. That didn't happen with Alexander Zverev after he took the title in 2026. Tennis icon (and, to be fair, fellow German) Boris Becker is literally asking why.
The issue might stem, according to Tennis365, from the fact that after winning Roland Garros, Zverev cut short an interview with L'Equipe when he was asked about domestic violence that had been levied against him previously. That has happened twice, once due to a 2020 incident and once in 2023.
Both times, Zverev was not found guilty in a criminal court of what was alleged to have occurred. (To be sure, that does not mean that the abuse did or did not happen; only that once accused, a court didn't find criminal involvement. The second was settled out of court.)
Boris Becker asks the Alexander Zverev question that many assume to know the answer to
Becker, who isn't without more than a hint of legal issues himself, took to X/Twitter and responded to tweets about the news of Zverev not making the cover by asking once, "Why? What did he do?" and then simply, "But why?"
One can safely assume Becker understands what Zverev has been accused of. Asking on social media what the younger German may or may not have done is just asking for rude pushback. Plus, if Zverev actually did do what he is accused of, Becker might be viewed as defending someone who shouldn't normally be worthy of being defended.
Again, this is no judgment on Alexander Zverev's guilt or innocence, only that Boris Becker chose social media to ask questions that few people know the true answer to. None on social media likely does, but Becker also knows that, too.
Tennis fans do have a right to be conflicted about Zverev. He was once the greatest player to never win a major, and that might have made some find it easier to follow him. Now that he has won the French Open, the sport has a different problem.
Tennis has recently been tasked with finding ways to quickly sweep major negative problems away. Zverev was accused of domestic violence more than once, and Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek have both been disciplined in the last two years for failing drug tests.
L'Equipe also had the right to choose who they wanted on the cover. The decision-makers at the magazine chose the handball team for Metz Women after they won the EHF Champions League Women over Zverev. That might be telling Boris Becker everything he implies he doesn't know.
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