Since its creation in 1877, Wimbledon continues to be one of the biggest events in the tennis world. Known for its prestige and constant recording-breaking viewership, Wimbledon is a hub for the best of the best, whether it’s in tennis skills, courtside style, or — to the people watching it all unfold on social media — drama.
There’s usually some form of beef or scandal that happens at Wimbledon every year — such as Stefanos Tsitsipas alleging on- and off-court bullying and mind games from his opponent Nick Kyrgios in 2022, or 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz besting seasoned tennis pro Novak Djokovic on the final day of the competition in 2023. This year, the drama surrounds Morgan Riddle, Taylor Fritz, and Alexander Zverev. Perhaps these names have been floating around on your TikTok or Instagram and you don’t know why. If that’s the case, here’s an explainer of the tennis world drama that has expanded beyond the court and onto your feeds.
In case Challengers didn’t have you turning tennis into your whole personality for the past few months, you should know that Fritz is the No. 1 American tennis player who made it to the Wimbledon quarter final on July 10, accompanied the whole way by his girlfriend, Riddle, who has traveled alongside him for years, offering support and cheering him on in-person and online. Riddle often posts about her journey with Fritz on social media, allowing the public a look into what goes on in the world of professional tennis. However, Riddle is beloved by many for more than just some behind-the-scenes tennis insights; she is outspoken on a variety of social issues, such as when she called out objectifying harassment she and her friends faced at Super Bowl LVIII. (She also wears some really cute ‘fits while creating all this quality content, which is def a bonus for the fashion girlies who follow her.)
Now, here is where Zverev enters. Zverev hails from Germany and is ranked fourth in the world, but this drama is less about his tennis career and more about his personal life. According to The Athletic, an offshoot of the New York Times, Zverev has been accused of domestic violence by two former girlfriends. Zverev has denied both claims. The Athletic reports that the first accusation from 2021 was privately investigated and officials did not find any reasons to penalize Zverev. In the newer case with the mother of his child from 2023, Zverev — still denying the abuse — recently agreed to a settlement “in order to shorten the process especially in the interest of the child they have together,” per a statement made by Zverev through his reps, according to ESPN. The settlement did not include a guilty or innocent verdict. Her Campus reached out to reps for Zverev for comment on these accusations, but did not hear back in time for publication.
And this is where it all (presumably) ties together at Wimbledon: During Fritz’s match against Zverev, Riddle posted an Instagram story, writing “cheer loud ladies,” to support her man before his game. This is noteworthy because tennis is not typically a “cheer loud” type of sport, and the mention of “ladies” in particular had some fans raising their eyebrows, wondering if this statement was a subtle dig at Zverev’s legal battle.
During the match, Fritz ended up defeating Zverev in the fourth round, coming back after being down two sets — a huge deal, especially when facing off against a top-five player. But maybe even more notably, the match ended in an awkward confrontation: Fritz was attempting to leave the court when Zverev pulled him closer, in front of the cameras, blocking Fritz in with his racket as he said something to him, leading fans to wonder what the two discussed.
Fritz (sort of) cleared this up in a post-match conference posted on the Wimbledon YouTube account. “I think [Zverev] was annoyed at some people in my box being loud, cheering for me,” he said. When Zverev addressed the moment in a follow-up interview, he added what many fans saw as shade toward Riddle, saying, “I think there’s some other people that maybe are in the box that are not maybe from the tennis world … They were a bit over the top.”
Following the match, Riddle posted a celebratory Instagram story, saying, “when ur man wins 4 the girls.” Once again, the “girls” mention had fans speculating that Riddle was referring to the abuse allegations against Zverev — however, Riddle has denied this was the case and explained this was all a big misunderstanding. Riddle then deleted both of her stories soon after posting them, and then posted another story the following morning on July 9, saying: “Regarding my stories yesterday… I took them down as soon as I realized 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 and there’s no bad blood between anyone. Super proud of T for the match yesterday, thank you to the crowd for the support.”
So, with Wimbledon now concluded and Riddle’s Instagram story having seemingly cleared up the confusion, this drama seems to be over — for now, at least.