Wimbledon statement on Kyrgios assault allegation


Lawyers for tennis player Nick Kyrgios will apply to have assault charges against him dropped. Photo: Instagram
Wimbledon organisers have given Nick Kyrgios the all-clear to take the court for Wednesday nightâs quarter-final clash, despite revelations that the Australian star faces a court summons over an assault allegation.
Kyrgios went to ground on Wednesday after it emerged late on Tuesday that he had been summonsed to face ACT Magistrates Court on August 2.
The accusation of assault reportedly relates to Kyrgiosâ former girlfriend Chiara Passari.
On Wednesday, the Nine Network reported that the 27-year-old Australian â who usually practises ahead of matches in front of the cameras â hit practice courts out of sight of the media, warming up for his quarter-final match against Chilean Cristian Garin.
It followed a tense earlier confrontation with British media, who asked Kyrgios to comment on the allegations.
The world No.40 ignored the cameras, although he was reportedly overhead telling a member of his entourage that âI feel like Iâm in The Last Danceâ â a reference to the Netflix series about Michael Jordanâs illustrious career at the Chicago Bulls.
Kyrgiosâ only public response so far has been a photo posted to his Instagram showing him with a young fan.
âThis is why I play. To all my youngsters out there, believe in yourself,â he captioned the image, which was posted shortly after the allegations were revealed.
Earlier, the All England Club released a statement saying Wimbledon was aware of the court summons, and that Kyrgiosâ quarter-final would go ahead.
âWe have been made aware of legal proceedings involving Nick Kyrgios in Australia, and as they are ongoing, we are not in a position to offer a comment,â the statement read.
âWe are in touch with Nickâs team and he remains scheduled to play his quarter-final match tomorrow.â
The allegations relate to an assertion that Kyrgios grabbed Ms Passari, The Canberra Times reports.
Kyrgiosâ barrister Jason Moffett said the Australian star was taking the allegation âvery seriouslyâ. He told the paper an assault charge, which carries a maximum jail sentence of two years, would be âin the context of a domestic relationshipâ.
âThe nature of the allegation is serious, and Mr Kyrgios takes the allegation very seriously,â Mr Moffett said.
âGiven the matter is before the court ⌠he doesnât have a comment at this stage.â
The tennis starâs legal team later clarified in a statement that Kyrgios had not yet been officially charged.
âWhile Mr Kyrgios is committed to addressing any and all allegations once clear, taking the matter seriously does not warrant any misreading of the process Mr Kyrgios is required to follow,â the statement said.
Kyrgios and then-partner Passari were reportedly separated by police while in hotel quarantine in South Australia in October last year. Police said at the time the couple had been involved in a verbal argument.
Source: Youtube/Wimbledon
Kyrgios has already been grilled repeatedly by the British media this week for his behaviour at Wimbledon. The one-time world No.13 was fined $10,000 ($17,600) following his first-round win over British wildcard Paul Jubb and another $4000 ($5800) after a fractious third-round victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas.
He can expect another lively press conference after playing Garin, win or lose.
The pending court case is an unwanted distraction after Kyrgios promised to fight through the pain barrier of a shoulder injury that required two rounds of treatment during his five-set fourth-round win over American Brandon Nakashima on Monday.
âI woke up after Tsitsipas and had some shoulder pain. Iâve played so much tennis in the last month and a half, so I almost knew that it was time for my body to start feeling some niggles,â he said.
âI think thatâs normal. At this time in the event I donât think anyone is feeling 100 per cent.
âObviously Rafa [Nadal], you see him dealing with something niggling all the time. I just donât think thereâs anyone feeling 100 per cent.
âItâs just something I manage. Mentally I feel like I just deal with these things a lot better now.â
Kyrgios said he never felt physically 100 per cent against Nakashima.
âBut mentally I stayed quite calm, knowing I wasnât able to serve full out for the whole five sets. Obviously I had to take painkillers,â he said.
âI wasnât returning well for a period of time, then I just stuck to my guns in the fifth set. I felt like the level in the fifth set for me was raised whereas his level kind of went away a little bit.â
Victory over the 43rd-ranked Garin on Wednesday night would vault Kyrgios into a maiden grand slam semi-final against either Nadal or American 11th seed Taylor Fritz.
â with AAP
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