Nick Kyrgios is seeking to have his common assault charge filed by his ex Chiara Passari dismissed on mental heath grounds. Kyrgios' charge relates to an alleged incident that happened between the former couple in January 2021.
Lawyers on behalf of the tennis star appeared at ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday to ask for an adjournment to allow for forensic assessments to be prepared and carried out on his mental health. Kyrgios' representative Michael Kukulies-Smith referenced his client's "medical history since 2015, including public disclosures of his mental health struggles."
The application comes under the section 334 of the Australian Capital Territory's Crimes Act, which allows the supreme court to dismiss the case on the grounds of mental health problems.
Kyrgios has spoken openly on his mental health problems in recent months, which led to self-harm and drug and alcohol abuse. He told Wide World of Sports : "It was very serious, to the point of self-harm and it's not okay.
"I guess I pushed everyone that cared about me away and I wasn't communicating, and I just shut down real life and I was trying to handle and tackle my problems head-on. I was abusing alcohol a lot, drugs and that spiralled out of control. Now I barely drink – I literally have a glass of wine at dinner.
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AP)"That was the initial kind of thing I had to clean up a little bit and then build my relationship back with my family and get into healthier habits like the basics; like diet, getting good sleep, trying to train a little bit more and that was it. I think COVID helped me a lot with that.”
The world No. 20 is in action at the Japan Open this week, where he kicks of his event with a clash against Tseng Chun-hsin. Addressing the legal case to reporters whilst out in Tokyo, he said: "There's only so much I can control and I'm taking all the steps and dealing with that off the court.
"I can only do what I can and I'm here in Tokyo and just trying to play some good tennis, continue that momentum and just try to do my job - and that's play tennis, play it well."
