Kyrgios assault charge dropped
TENNIS star Nick Kyrgios has apologised after his assault charge was dismissed, despite him admitting to shoving his ex-girlfriend on a night out.
The world No.20 faced ACT Magistrates Court on Friday, when he was spared a conviction after pleading guilty to common assault during an argument with Chiara Passari more than two years ago.
Kyrgios, 27, said he was “sincerely sorry” for the hurt he had caused.
“I was not in a good place when this took place and I reacted to a difficult situation in a way I deeply regret,” he said.
“Mental health is tough. Life can seem overwhelming, but I’ve found that getting help and working on myself has helped me to feel better and to be better.”
Kyrgios, who recently had knee surgery after pulling out of the Australian Open, arrived at the court on crutches with his family and current partner Costeen Hatzi.
Magistrate Beth Campbell rejected Kyrgios’ bid for the assault charge to be thrown out on mental health grounds but dismissed his case, saying it didn’t warrant a conviction.
She said she would deal with it in the same way as for any other young man charged with a “low-level assault”, irrespective of him being someone who “happens to hit a tennis ball particularly well”.
The court heard sworn evidence from Kyrgios’ psychologist and a victim impact statement from Ms Passari, in which she said she felt “scared to be alone” after the assault.
Ms Campbell said it was clear Ms Passari was distressed by what had happened, but she said the assault was an “impulsive and unfortunate response” to an incident that appeared to be a “one-off”.