Tennis: Nick Kyrgios pleads guilty to assaulting ex-girlfriend, escapes conviction

The charge was for an incident in 2021.

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has admitted to assaulting an ex-girlfriend but avoided a criminal conviction with the magistrate calling the incident "a single act of stupidity or frustration." It was reported back in 2021 that World No. 20 had shoved his ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari after a heated argument. Later Krgyios pleaded to the court to remove the charges against him citing mental health issues.

Magistrate Beth Campbell heard his plea and said that the matter is not grave therefore the charges can be dropped.

Campbell said Kyrgios acted poorly but the offense was not planned or pre-meditated. It was a “single act of stupidity” by a young man attempting to extricate himself from a tense situation. Kyrgios was s2aid to have shoved Passari, who was preventing him from leaving her Canberra apartment. Campbell described the incident as an act of ‘stupidity’ and ‘frustration’.

Krygios showed a deep sense of regret as he said, ‘I respect today's ruling and am grateful to the court for dismissing the charges without conviction. I was not in a good place when this took place and I reacted to a difficult situation in a way I deeply regret. I know it wasn't OK and I'm sincerely sorry for the hurt I caused.’

Kyrgios ex-girlfriend Passari reported this incident in early February almost a month after the incident had originally happened. The couple initially put it behind them and moved on. However, they broke up later that year.

His lawyer claimed that Krygios had lawfully asked the woman to move away from his car. 3‘It is in that context and the frustration that resulted, that my client reacted and the offense occurred," Kukulies Smith added.

The lawyer later added that the incident was ‘a relationship between the mental health and the offending - even though he no longer suffers it to the same extent today.’

Sam Borenstein said that the tennis player suffers from recurrent mental health issue and thoughts of self-harm.

After listening to the entire account, the magistrate said,’ I am dealing with you in the same way I would deal with any young man in this court. You are a young man who happens to hit a tennis ball particularly well.’

Krygios finished second in Wimbledon 2022. He had to pull out of the recently finished Australian Open due to a knee injury.