Wimbledon 2022: Nick Kyrgios breaks silence over assault allegations as Ajla Tomljanovic weighs in 

Nick Kyrgios says he’d love to tell his side of the story on allegations he assaulted an ex-girlfriend, as he opened up on his mental health battles after blasting his way into his first Grand Slam semi-final. 

Kyrgios had too much firepower for Cristian Garin, eliminating the unseeded Chilean 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7-5) in two hours and 13 minutes on Wednesday – barely 24 hours after it was revealed his former girlfriend Chiara Passari had accused him of assault.  

Kyrgios broke his silence on the allegations in his post-match press conference before opening up that he once thought he would never reach the final four of a grand slam.

‘There was a point I was almost done with the sport,’ he admitted.

‘I was self-harming, I had suicidal thoughts.’

‘To be a semi-finalist at Wimbledon now, if you had asked anyone if I could do that they would have said no. 

‘Doesn’t have the mental capacity, doesn’t have the physical capacity, doesn’t have the stamina. It’s been a rocky road to here. 

‘At the start of the year I didn’t know if I wanted to play a proper schedule. I’d lost the love, I’d lost the spark.’

Kyrgios will appear in ACT Magistrates Court on August 2 to potentially face a common assault charge.

‘Obviously, I have a lot of thoughts, a lot of things I want to say, kind of my side about it,’ he said. 

‘Obviously, I’ve been advised by my lawyers that I’m unable to say anything at this time.

‘Look, I understand everyone wants to kind of ask about it and all that, but I can’t give you too much on that right now.’

Kygrios is the last Australian standing at Wimbledon after another former girlfriend, Ajla Tomljanovic earlier lost her quarter-final clash.

She says never endured any domestic violence during her two-year relationship with Kyrgios.

Somewhat taken aback, Tomljanovic, 29, said she wasn’t aware of Kyrgios’s ‘past relationship and the allegations’ when quizzed about her time with him between from 2015 to 2017.

‘It’s been a while since our relationship ended,’  she said.

‘Obviously, I’ve always kept my relationship very private. I would like to keep it like that.

‘I’m definitely against domestic violence. I hope it gets resolved.

‘But, yeah, I mean, I haven’t had that experience with him.’

Nick Kyrgios reached his first-ever Grand Slam semi-final after steaming past Cristian Garin

But after cruising past Garin – and armed with a 2-0 winning record over most likely final opponent Novak Djokovic – the self-styled bad boy of tennis might finally be about to come good.

Kyrgios must first overcome Rafael Nadal in Friday’s semi-finals on Centre Court. 

Kyrgios, speaking on the court after his win, said: ‘An amazing atmosphere again. I never thought I’d be in the semi-final of a Grand Slam. I thought that ship had sailed – that I may have wasted that window in my career.

‘I’m really happy I was able to come out here with my team and put on a performance.’

People often criticise Kyrgios for not caring because he doesn’t have a coach, and never has had a full-time coach in his career, but he hit back at those remarks after his impressive victory. 

The world No 13 hit back at comments that he doesn’t care because he has never had a coach

Kyrgios also revealed that there is plenty of work to do ahead of his semi-final match

He added: ‘I don’t have a coach I would never put that burden on someone! Each and every one of my team plays a very important role.

‘No-one knows my tennis more than I do, I’ve been playing this sport since I was seven and I’m very happy.

‘I felt I was playing on the back foot a lot. Garin’s a hell of a player. I got lucky on a couple of break points so I’ll take that and will prepare for my next match.’

Kyrgios also revealed that there is plenty of work to be done, but first he would recover with a family meal and then prepare for his semi-final match. 

‘There’s a lot to be done, go back, dad will cook us dinner as always, we’ll eat it and just chill out.’