Nick Kyrgios won’t be present as assault charge gets mention in Canberra court

Tennis News
Nick Kyrgios behind the camera

The ACT Magistrates Court will hear the case against Nick Kyrgios this week with the Australian tennis star not set to appear.

Kyrgios was set to answer a common assault charge relating to an incident that allegedly occurred in January.

The initial date was set for early August, but Kyrgios has been in the United States taking part in the ATP Tour.

At the initial mention of the case, Kyrgios will not appear but will instead be represented by Canberra solicitor Michael Kukulies-Smith.

Kyrgios faces the charges in the wake of an incident involving ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari.

The Wimbledon finalist will remain in the United States until after his participation in the US Open.

Passari faced backlash after the initial summons served on Kyrgios, was issued while he was competing at Wimbledon.

However, the model has since defended herself by making it clear that she reported the incident several months earlier and she had no control over the timing.

No legal decisions have been reached in this case and reports and accounts of the events differ considerably.

The allegations come as Kyrgios is enjoying perhaps the best form of his career.

In recent weeks it appears that an injury has caught up to him making it difficult to play his best game on hard courts.

Nonetheless, he followed up his run to the Wimbledon final by winning the Citi Open in Washington DC on his return to the tour following a short holiday in the Bahamas.

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Kyrgios earned the ire of fans in Cincinnati last week for a perceived lack of effort in his loss to Taylor Fritz as well as his treatment of the ball boys.

The Australian has also admitted that he isn’t 100 per cent focused on tennis as his parents suffer through illness while he is in the United States.

Kyrgios is the 24th seed for the US Open having moved up to World No 26 in the ATP Rankings this week thanks to his recent form in North America.

He was denied the points boost for his Wimbledon efforts owing to the ATP sanctions against the tournament for their ban on Russian and Belarussian players.

The 27-year-old from Canberra is the biggest draw in tennis outside of the big three right now and has plenty of organisers and event directors hoping he can keep it together and deliver consistent performances.

As a criminal case, the trial could very well disrupt Kyrgios’ time on tour and could even see him handed jail time if found guilty.

Nick Kyrgios

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