Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has had had an assault charge dismissed after he pleaded guilty to pushing over his ex-girlfriend in January 2021.
The 27-year-old's plea came after his lawyers tried and failed to have the charges thrown out on mental health grounds.
The incident in question took place in the Australian capital of Canberra in 2021. The court heard that Mr Kyrgios pushed his then girlfriend Chiara Passar to the ground during an argument.
The Magistrate presiding over the case labelled the act "a single act of stupidity or frustration," but chose to spare the Tennis star a criminal conviction.
Shortly after the verdict, Kyrgios issued the following statement:
“I was not in a good place when this happened, and I reacted to a difficult situation in a way I deeply regret,” he said. “I know I wasn’t OK, and I’m sincerely sorry for the hurt I caused.”
“Mental health is tough,” he said, adding: “I now plan to focus on recovering from injury and moving forward in the best way possible.”
The Court heard that Mr Kyrgios pushed Ms Passar to the floor during an argument on the 10th of January 2021 after Ms Passar stopped his car from driving away. Mr Kyrgios then swore at Ms Passar and said "I'm serious. I'm going to…" before pushing Ms Passari in the shoulder, which caused her to fall to the sidewalk.
The Court heard that Ms Passari grazed her knee and felt pain in her shoulder following the incident. Mr Kyrgios apologised the day after the argument took place.
Sam Bornenstein, Kyrgios' psychologist, told the Court that Kyrgios had in the past used drugs and alcohol as a means to cope with major depressive episodes. Mr Bornenstein said that Kyrgios' mental health had improved significantly since then.
Mr Kyrgios' current girlfriend also provided a character reference to the Court and said that she had no concerns about violence in their relationship.
Kyrgios had a breakthrough year on the Court in 2022, reaching the Wimbledon final and winning the doubles tournament at the Australian Open. Last month, he had to pull out of his home Grand Slam in Melbourne after suffering a knee injury.
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