Nick Kyrgios: Australian tennis star avoids conviction for assault

Hong Kong
CNN
—

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios avoided a criminal conviction despite pleading guilty to assaulting his ex-girlfriend, CNN affiliate Nine News reported Friday.

Nine News reports that the 27-year-old tennis player appeared in the Canberra Magistrates Court and admitted pushing his ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari outside her apartment after an argument on the 10th.

Kyrgios wanted the assault charge dismissed on mental health grounds, but the court rejected it.

Instead, Judge Beth Campbell heard he pleaded guilty and dismissed the charge, admitting the seriousness of the case was low, meaning no conviction was recorded.

In an Instagram storyKyrgios apologized for the injury and said he was focused on recovering from a recent knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the Australian Open last month.

I respect today’s decision and am grateful to the court for dismissing the charges without conviction. I was not in a good place when this happened and I reacted to a difficult situation in a way that I deeply regret, he said.

Mental health is hard. Life can feel overwhelming. But I’ve found that getting help and healing myself has helped me feel better and win better, she added.

Kyrgios, ranked 20th in the world, was the men’s singles runner-up at Wimbledon last year and won the men’s doubles title at the 2022 Australian Open with partner Thanasi Kokkinaki.