Tennis star Kyrgios admits to assaulting girlfriend, but escapes conviction

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios pleaded guilty on Friday to assaulting an ex-girlfriend but avoided conviction for what the magistrate called a “single act of stupidity”.

The Wimbledon finalist appeared in court in Canberra and admitted assaulting then-girlfriend Chiara Passari on January 10, 2021 by pushing her to the ground after a heated argument.

Kyrgios said he was “not in a good place” at the time and that he “reacted to a difficult situation in a way that I deeply regret”.

“I know it wasn’t okay and I’m sincerely sorry for the pain I caused,” he said in a statement.

Passari filed a police complaint 10 months after the incident, after the couple broke up, lawyers told the court.

In a statement read to the court, Passari said she was severely traumatized by the incident, experienced severe weight loss, stayed in bed day and night — unable to sleep or form new romantic relationships.

Kyrgios lawyers appealed the dismissal of the charge of assault on grounds of mental health, arguing that it was an isolated incident and uncharacteristic.

Psychologist Sam Borenstein told the court that Kyrgios suffered from recurrent severe depression, including black spells, thoughts of harming himself, insomnia, agitation and guilt.

Borenstein said the tennis star had relied on alcohol and drugs as a means of coping but was now making progress in addressing the issues.

Magistrate Beth Campbell heard that appeal, but ultimately dismissed the case without conviction.

Campbell said Kyrgios acted badly, but the offense was not planned or premeditated and was a “single act of stupidity” by a young man trying to remove himself from a tense situation.

The court was told that Kyrgios pushed Passari, which prevented him from leaving her apartment in Canberra.

“I’m not registering any conviction against your name. I don’t see any need to put you on a good code of conduct,” Campbell said.

– Wasted talents? –

Kyrgios stumbled into court in Canberra with a pair of crutches and a knee brace after suffering a “horrific” injury that sidelined him at last month’s Australian Open.

He was flanked by his current girlfriend Costeen Hatzi, an interior designer, and his mother Norlaila.

Known for his mercurial talent and outbursts on the pitch, Canberra-born Kyrgios later said that “mental health is tough”.

“Life can seem overwhelming. But I’ve found that getting help and working on myself has helped me feel better and be better,” he said.

The case was adjourned in October as Kyrgios prepared to play the Japan Open so experts could prepare mental health reports for the court.

“There’s only so much I can control and I’m taking all the steps and dealing with that off the pitch,” Kyrgios said from Tokyo at the time.

Kyrgios is currently ranked 20th in the world and featured prominently in the first episode of Netflix’s new Break Point tennis documentary.

“I now intend to focus on recovering from injury and moving forward in the best way possible,” he said.

The fan favorite won last year’s Australian Open men’s doubles crown with close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis, but was ruled out of this year’s tournament before playing a match.

His manager Daniel Horsfall said he recently had surgery to remove a cyst in his knee.

“The operation went great, honestly we couldn’t have wished for a better result,” he told radio station SEN.

“Maybe he will recover faster than we expected, so that’s good news.”

Kyrgios rose to fame as a 19-year-old in 2014 when he shocked the tennis world by beating Rafael Nadal to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

Often criticized for wasting his talents, Kyrgios reached the Wimbledon final last year only to be defeated by Novak Djokovic by a wide margin.