Tennis player Nick Kyrgios has been called to appear in court in Australia on an allegation of assaulting Chiara Passari, a former girlfriend.
The 27-year-old Australian, who on Monday advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals, will show up in court in Canberra the following month.
Police in the Australian Capital Territory stated on Tuesday that Kyrgios had been called in to answer for allegedly abusing his ex-girlfriend. It's about a thing that happened in Canberra last December.
According to ACT policing, a 27-year-old Watson man is expected to appear in the ACT magistrates court on August 2 in connection with an allegation of common assault stemming from an incident in December 2021.
The summons apparently pertains to an allegation that Kyrgios grabbed a previous lover, according to the Canberra Times.
Two years is the maximum penalty for the offense.
Kyrgios is now in England after advancing to the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
“It’s in the context of a domestic relationship,” Barrister Jason Moffett told The Canberra Times.
“The nature of the allegation is serious, and Mr Kyrgios takes the allegation very seriously.
“Given the matter is before the court ... he doesn’t have a comment at this stage.”
His legal team then issued a release claiming Kyrgios had not been officially charged yet.
“Today’s media headline that Mr Kyrgios has been “charged” is inaccurate,” it read.
“At the present time, the allegations are not considered as fact by the Court, and Mr Kyrgios is not considered charged with an offence until the First Appearance.
"It may be misleading to the public to describe the summons in any other way than a formal direction to appear to face allegations, the precise nature of which is neither certain at this time nor confirmed by either the Prosecution or Mr. Kyrgios, until the Court formally accepts the Prosecution will be proceeding with a charge and that the charge before the Court is to be applied to the person summoned to appear.
"While Mr. Kyrgios is committed to responding to all charges as soon as they are clarified, treating the situation seriously does not allow for any misinterpretations of the steps Mr. Kyrgios must take."
Reporters approached Kyrgios after his Tuesday practice at Wimbledon.
He refused to respond to any of their inquiries but did tell one of his teammates, "I feel like I'm in the Last Dance," maybe alluding to a part in the Michael Jordan documentary where he was surrounded by a sizable press corps.
Additionally, Kyrgios shared a picture of himself talking with a young girl at Wimbledon on Instagram.
For this reason, I play. To all of my young people out there, have faith in yourself," he wrote beside a heart emoji in the caption.
The Wimbledon tournament's organizer, the All England Club, announced that Kyrgios' quarterfinal will proceed in a statement.
“We 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,” the statement read. “We are in touch with Nick’s team and he remains scheduled to play his quarter-final match tomorrow.”