What Did Alexander Zverev Say to Taylor Fritz After Their Match — and How Was Morgan Riddle Involved?
Morgan Riddle says "there's no bad blood between anyone."
Jul. 9 2024, Published 12:41 p.m. ET
After American tennis pro Taylor Fritz beat out Germany's Alexander Zverev following an epic Wimbledon match on July 8, 2024, all kinds of chaos erupted on social media — all of which seemed to center around Alexander's reaction to some Instagram posts made by Taylor's girlfriend Morgan Riddle.
So what exactly is going on? Apparently Alexander had some choice words for Taylor after the match. Let's get into it...
Zverev talks to Fritz right after their July 8 match
What did Alexander Zverev say to Taylor Fritz?
At the end of their match, when they were shaking hands at the net, Alexander stopped to get something off his chest to Taylor.
Immediately after the game, when reporters asked him about what he said to Taylor, Alexander played it off as "all good," adding: "Obviously with his knee it felt like in the fifth set he wasn't moving as well so I just wished him the best, you know?"
But fast-forward to another post-match interview soon after that, and Alexander said he hadn't been pleased with some folks in Taylor's box who "may not be from the tennis world" and who were a "bit over the top."
Folks immediately zeroed in on Taylor's girlfriend, Morgan Riddle. Here's why...
Taylor Fritz's girlfriend Morgan Riddle made some Instagram posts that apparently upset Alexander Zverev.
Influencer Morgan Riddle is known to cheer on her tennis pro boyfriend at his games, so it was no surprise that she was in Taylor's box during his match against Alexander.
But what apparently may have set Alexander off were a couple of Morgan's Instagram posts. During the match, Morgan posted on behalf of her boyfriend, "cheer loud, ladies." And when Taylor won the game, Morgan posted, "when your man wins for the girls."
So why would this bother Alexander? Well, he's been accused of physically abusing two ex-girlfriends in the past: Brenda Patea (the mother of his daughter) and tennis player Olya Sharypova. Alexander, who has maintained his innocence, paid a settlement to Brenda. Meanwhile, an investigation by the ATP into Olya's claims found "insufficient evidence."
Morgan Riddle's Instagram story the day after the match
As for Morgan, she ended up deleting both posts, writing on her Instagram stories the following day: "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."