Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios will play his Wimbledon quarter-final with a court appearance pending back in his home country.
The 27-year-old is due to face the Australia Capital Territory (ACT) Magistrates’ Court on August 2 after being accused of common assault against former girlfriend Chiara Passari. The charge carries a maximum sentence of two years in jail.
ACT Police confirmed the allegations in a statement on Tuesday, saying it is linked to an incident in December 2021.
Kyrgios’ barrister told The Canberra Times that the accusation was “in the context of a domestic relationship.”
“Tha nature of the allegation is serious, and Mr Kyrgios takes the allegation very seriously,” he said.
“Given the matter is before the court … he doesn’t have a comment at this stage, but in the fullness of time we’ll issue a media release.”
In October 2021, police were called over a verbal argument between Kyrgios and Chiara Passari when they were in a quarantine hotel in Adelaide.
Passari later accused Kyrgios of infidelity and shared heated exchanges on social media between the pair.
Kyrgios will compete against Chile’s Cristian Garin at the All England Club on Wednesday (AEST) for a place in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Ranked 40 in the world, Kyrgios has been under criticism for his behaviour on the court.
He was fined $47,000 for berating the chair umpire in his match against Italy’s Jannik Sinner at the Miami Open in April.
He was hit with a fine of $14,500 in his first-round tie for spitting in the direction of a fan who he claimed had been “disrespecting” him during the match against Paul Jubb.
