Kyrgios says sorry to fan he claimed was drunk at final
Australian tennis player apologises and donates £20k to charity over rant during Wimbledon match
NICK KYRGIOS has apologised to a tennis fan and donated £20,000 to Great Ormond Street Hospital after she sued him for accusing her of being “drunk out of her mind” during his defeat in this summer’s Wimbledon final.
The 27-year-old Australian had also said Anna Palus, a Polish lawyer, “looks like she’s had about 700 drinks” and angrily demanded she be thrown off Centre Court in a complaint to the umpire in his match against Novak Djokovic in July.
Ms Palus, who Mr Kyrgios angrily accused of talking to him during points in a rant witnessed by the now Prince and Princess of Wales, the nine-yearold Prince George, and millions on the BBC, launched legal action for defamation the following month over what she branded “a reckless and entirely baseless allegation”.
Mr Kyrgios has now apologised in a statement released by Knight Temple Law, which represented Ms Palus, 32.
“I told the umpire that a fan, who I now know to be Anna Palus, was distracting me during the match, believing that she was drunk,” he said. “I accept that belief was mistaken, and I apologise.
“To make amends, I have donated £20,000 to the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, a charity chosen by Ms Palus. I will not be commenting on this matter again.”
The flashpoint, which marred Mr Kyrgios’s maiden grand slam final, occurred shortly after he surrendered a one-set lead to defending champion Mr Djokovic.
He was warned over an audible obscenity after calling out “F---ing joke”, following a double-fault midway through the third set and then, at the changeover, began demanding Ms Palus’s ejection.
Accusing umpire Renaud Lichtenstein of ignoring his previous complaints about her, he said: “You didn’t believe me. It shouldn’t be coming down to your opinion. She is distracting me when I’m serving in a Wimbledon final.
“There is no bigger occasion, you didn’t believe me, and she did it again, and it nearly cost me the game. Why is she still here? She is drunk out of her mind in the first row, speaking in the middle of the game! What is acceptable?”
After being told “nothing is acceptable”, he fired back: “Okay, then kick her out. I know exactly which one it is… It’s the one who looks like she’s had about 700 drinks, bro. Talking to me in the middle of the point and you just go [shrugs shoulders].”
Ms Palus, who was close to the front of the crowd, was pulled aside and spoken to by stewards before being allowed to return to her seat 15 minutes later.
Mr Kyrgios continued to accuse her of having been drunk during his postmatch press conference, saying: “I don’t need someone absolutely smashed talking to me point in, point out, do you know what I mean?
“I’m all for having a great time but speaking between first and second serve like to me – you know. I’ve been on a couple nights out in my life and I knew that she had too many.”
But, speaking to reporters afterwards, Ms Palus said she had only had one Pimm’s and a glass of rose – conceding only that she had forgotten her hat in the heat.
She said : “If you think one person saying, ‘Come on, you can do it!’ is so disturbing that he loses a game… how can he pick up a single fan who is clapping, rooting for him?”
A committed tennis follower, Ms Palus had cheered on Rafael Nadal at this summer’s French Open at Roland Garros, according to posts on her social media.
She also posted a selfie picture with Mr Djokovic last year.
Speaking after the final, she said of Mr Kyrgios: “I understand what it is like to be an underdog so I wanted to give him support. Maybe I took it too far, so, for that, I am sorry. But I only had good intentions.”
Blaming others when a match is going against him is a hallmark of the Australian’s game, and his run to the Wimbledon final was littered with clashes with opponents, officials, spectators and the media.
But this is the first time he has been forced to settle a lawsuit over his oncourt antics.
His apology comes a month after it emerged he was seeking to have an assault charge against him dismissed on mental health grounds.
Mr Kyrgios’s lawyer appeared for him at a hearing in the magistrates’ court of the Australian Capital Territory, where he faces a charge of common assault.
He was not required to appear for the largely administrative hearing, which took place while he was at the Japan Open in Tokyo.
‘I accept that my belief was mistaken and I apologise’