Nick Kyrgios has been refused the “indulgence” of a November court date, after the tennis star’s lawyer asked for a three-month delay because his client does not spend much time in the Australian Capital Territory.
On Tuesday the ACT magistrates court met for a hearing in Kyrgios’ case, after he was summoned to appear to face a charge of assaulting his former girlfriend in relation to an incident in Canberra last December.
Kyrgios is scheduled to play in the US Open from 29 August to 11 September, after reaching the Wimbledon final and winning the Citi Open earlier in August.
On Tuesday Kyrgios’s lawyer, Michael Kukulies-Smith asked magistrate Louise Taylor to adjourn the case to 25 November, noting that the tennis star spends “very little time in the ACT” and his time “doesn’t align with availability of the courts”.
Kukulies-Smith also noted that he himself would be “on leave all of December and the first part of January”.
Kukulies-Smith foreshadowed an application that may be “capable of finalising the matter” at the proposed November hearing but said he did not wish to say more, noting the many journalists present in court.
Kukulies-Smith said he did not want to take up time making an application for the court to be closed.
Magistrate Taylor responded: “I am not sure what the case is for the secrecy … [The proposed November date is] an indulgence for you and your client. I am not going to list the matter on the basis of some application that might be made.”
The ACT director of public prosecutions did not oppose the application, but magistrate Taylor rejected the request to “set aside time for some unknown reason”, noting the ordinary process is to ask the defendant “if there is a plea of guilty or not guilty”.
As a fallback, Kyrgios’s lawyer asked for a six-week adjournment to spend more time in dialogue with the DPP.
Magistrate Taylor noted the DPP ordinarily seeks shorter adjournments, of two weeks, but when the application was not opposed she granted it, listing the matter for 4 October.
In July an ACT Policing spokesperson said: “ACT policing can confirm a 27-year-old Watson man is scheduled to face the ACT magistrates court … in relation to one charge of common assault following an incident in December 2021.”
At the time, Kyrgios’s lawyer, Pierre Johannessen, said he was “committed to addressing any and all allegations once clear”.
In Wimbledon post-match press conferences, Kyrgios said it was “hard to … focus on the mission at hand” due to the allegation.
“Obviously I have a lot of thoughts, a lot of things I want to say, kind of my side about it. Obviously I’ve been advised by my lawyers that I’m unable to say anything at this time.”
