Morgan Riddle shared two Instagram posts that seemed to target Alexander Zverev’s domestic abuse allegations, before her boyfriend, Taylor Fritz, faced Zverev in the fourth round at Wimbledon. Riddle’s posts were reportedly alluded to in an after-match chat between Fritz and Zverev, and were later taken down.
In the first post, Riddle, a fashion influencer, captioned an Instagram story, “Cheer ladies,” according to Sports Illustrated. Fritz beat Zverev, a German, in a thrilling five-set comeback win, and after the match, Riddle, who was there, shared another post captioned, “[Wh]hen ur man wins 4 the girls.” Zverev and Fritz, an American, met at the net for a handshake after the match, and viewers noticed Zverev seemed to have words for his opponent.
Zverev later explained he was upset by people cheering against him in Fritz’s box who “may not be from the tennis world,” presumably referring to Riddle, but added there was no bad blood between him and Fritz. “I think he was a little upset about the, I guess my team members cheering for me when he was injured … Whatever, it’s all good,” Fritz added in a post-match interview.
Riddle clarified what she meant the next day
After the controversy, Morgan Riddle deleted both Instagram posts and clarified what the posts meant in a statement shared online. “Regarding my stories yesterday… I took them down as soon as I realised [sic] the misunderstanding and how blown out of proportion they had become by the media. They were not about anything that’s happened off the tennis court & there’s no bad blood between anyone. Super proud of [Fritz] for the match yesterday, thank you to the crowd for the support & looking forward to tomorrow,” she said.
Alexander Zverev’s domestic violence allegations
Morgan Riddle’s Instagram posts seemed to refer to two instances when Alexander Zverev faced domestic violence accusations. Both women have spoken publically about their experiences. Zverev’s former romantic partner, Olya Sharypova, accused Zverev of domestic abuse but never pressed charges. Zverev denied Sharypova’s allegations, according to ESPN. Brenda Patea, the mother of Zverev’s daughter, also accused the tennis player of domestic violence and took him to court. Zverev settled the case.
With that in mind, Fritz and Riddle also beat Zverev in the court of public opinion, according to social media. “Taylor Fritz beating that rat Zverev… this is my fourth of July,” Lara Parker shared on X. “Hearing that Zverev apparently insinuated that Morgan Riddle is disrespectful on the court makes me an enormous fan of Taylor Fritz all of a sudden,” Isabel added.