Nick Kyrgios has been charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend in a domestic violence incident which allegedly occurred late last year.
The Australian tennis star, 27, who is currently preparing for a quarter-final clash at Wimbledon after a string of controversial matches, is accused of attacking model Chiara Passari and will face court next month.
Kyrgios is scheduled to play Chile’s Cristian Garin on Wednesday for a spot in the Grand Slam’s semi-final.
‘ACT Policing can confirm a 27-year-old Watson man is scheduled to face the ACT Magistrates Court on the 2nd of August in relation to one charge of common assault following an incident in December 2021,’ police said on Tuesday afternoon.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
Nick Kyrgios (pictured with his ex Chiara Passari) has been charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend in a domestic violence incident which allegedly occurred late last year
The Australian tennis star, 27, who currently preparing for a quarterfinal clash at Wimbledon, is accused of assaulting model Chiara Passari (pictured together) and will face court next month
Kyrgios’s barrister Jason Moffett, from Key Chambers, told The Canberra Times his client was aware of the charges, which were ‘in the context of a domestic relationship’.
‘The nature of the allegation is serious, and Mr Kyrgios takes the allegation very seriously,’ he added.
‘Given the matter is before the court… he doesn’t have a comment at this stage, but in the fullness of time we’ll issue a media release.’
It’s understood the charge concerns an allegation Kyrgios grabbed ex-girlfriend Ms Passari.
Shortly after the allegations came to light at about 8:30pm on Tuesday night, Kyrgios posted a photo from an interaction with a young fan in London.
‘This is why I play. To all my youngsters out there, believe in yourself,’ he wrote alongside the photo of a little girl staring adoringly at her idol.
Kyrgios, known largely to his supporters as a loveable rogue, is being fuelled by his critics in a bid to achieve his best grand slam result at Wimbledon.
Shortly after the allegations came to light at about 8:30pm on Tuesday night, Kyrgios posted a photo from a sweet interaction he had with a young fan at Wimbledon (pictured)
Kyrgios’ current girlfriend, 21-year-old Costeen Hatzi (pictured) has been travelling the world supporting him during this year’s tennis season
Kyrgios has credited his new girlfriend with helping him stay focused on his game, calling her his ‘greatest blessing’, and insiders say she has been instrumental in turning his life around after a tumultuous few years (Kyrgios and Hatzi are seen in a recent Instagram post)
He struggled with a shoulder problem but recovered from a set down and then clinched the decider against 20-year-old American Brandon Nakashima on Monday, winning 4-6 6-4 7-6 (2) 3-6 6-2 to set up a quarter-final with Chile’s Garin.
Kyrgios’ battle against Stefanos Tsitsipas was undoubtedly the most talked-about match of the tournament so far, and he received plenty of criticism for his on-court behaviour.
‘Honestly, I don’t care,’ said Kyrgios. ‘I just smile. It’s so funny. I joke around with my team about it so much. It’s hilarious.
‘I almost just wake up and read things, and I just laugh. And I never forget things people say, whether it was three, four years ago, things that just stick with me.
‘I have a massive chip on my shoulder. I sit here now in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon again, and I just know there’s so many people that are so upset.’
Nick Kyrgios has been seen at Wimbledon support by girlfriend Costeen Hatzi (left), who he started dating after his relationship with Ms Passari soure
Kyrgios was fined $10,000 after his first-round match for spitting towards a fan, was warned for swearing on Saturday and then called for Tsitsipas to be defaulted after the Greek hit a ball close to a spectator’s head after losing the second set.
Both players received fines on Sunday.
So far, he has been fined twice, spat towards a fan and called the World No.5 ‘soft’ for the opening four rounds – but he has combined that with brilliant tennis.
But it was a different story in his win over Nakashima where he showed model behaviour and a new level of focus.
Kyrgios displayed model behaviour during his match against Brandon Nakashima in Wimbledon on July 4, after a heated game against Stefanos Tsitsipas over the weekend
The athlete went Instagram official with Costeen (pictured at Wimbledon last week) last December, following his split from longtime girlfriend Chiara Passari
An explosive meltdown seemed imminent in the final game of the fourth set when Kyrgios put hardly any effort into his service game to hand the set to the American.
‘Why would you tank this game? Because that is exactly what this game is at the moment’, stunned nine-time Wimbledon doubles champ Woodbridge said in commentary.
‘He’s throwing this game to see what might happen at the start of the fifth. He needs to stay focused here, he’s lost his way.’
But Kyrgios, who was battling a nagging shoulder injury, defied expectations to lock down and compete hard in the final set to secure a famous victory.
Kyrgios’ drama-free performance differed greatly to his antics against Stefanos Tsitsipas
His showmanship prompted experts on The Tennis Podcast to laud Kyrgios for his calmer approach in the gutsy five-set victory over his American opponent.
‘Who knows what will happen over the next few days but he has already done things this week that I didn’t really think he could do. I didn’t have much belief he could do,’ pundit Matt Roberts said.
‘He’s beaten a top 5 player over five sets, he’s won when there was a circus, he’s won when there wasn’t a circus, he’s backed up a real emotional high against Tstispas and won the next match. That’s so important in slams.
‘That’s how you win slams, by backing it up and doing it over and over again. He’s never really demonstrated that he can do that and he’s also won when he was a set down – he’s done that three times.’
Co-hosts David Law and Catherine Whitaker endorsed Roberts’ view, labelling the victory over Nakashima one of the biggest of his career.
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