Nick Kyrgios will not be convicted after pleading guilty to assaulting his ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari on a night out in Canberra.
The Australian tennis star fronted the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday, where his case was dismissed after he entered a guilty plea following an unsuccessful attempt to have the charge dealt with on mental health grounds.
The 27-year-old world no. 20 was charged with common assault after he pushed Ms Passari to the ground during a verbal argument more than two years ago.
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The offence carried a maximum jail sentence of two years if convicted.
Kyrgios, who recently underwent surgery after pulling out of the Australian Open on the first day of the tournament because of a tear to his knee cartilage, arrived at the court with his family and his current partner, Costeen Hatzi.
Magistrate Beth Campbell dismissed Kyrgios’s attempt to have the assault charge dealt with under section 334 of the local Crimes Act, which would have seen the case thrown out on mental health grounds.
But Ms Campbell ultimately dismissed Kyrgios’s charge, saying she would deal with his case in the same way she would that of any other young man charged with a “low level assault”.
Her decision means Kyrgios will not have a conviction recorded, nor will he have to adhere to a temporary good behaviour bond.
Ms Campbell said the assault was was not premeditated and was instead an “impulsive and unfortunate response” to an incident which she detailed to the courtroom by reading from a statement of sworn facts.
Kyrgios and Ms Passari got into a loud verbal argument outside a unit complex in the Canberra suburb of Kingston after having dinner in the same suburb on the night of January 10, 2021.
After Kyrgios got into an Uber he had ordered to leave the situation, Ms Passari stood in front of the front passenger door so he was unable to close it and the car was unable to drive away.
As the verbal argument continued, Kyrgios told Ms Passari to “leave me the f*** alone.”
When she wouldn’t move away, Kyrgos put his hands on Ms Passari’s hips and moved her so she was no longer standing inside the doorway.
Ms Passari moved back into the position before Kyrgios stood and pushed her with “significant force” so that she fell onto the ground.
A number of residents of the apartment complex saw Ms Passari lying on the ground crying. She reported grazing her knee.
Ms Passari and Kyrgios met at a café a day later to discuss what had happened. During their conversation, which Ms Passari recorded without Kyrgios’ knowledge, the tennis star said he was remorseful.
The couple reconciled and Ms Passari didn’t report the incident to police until 10 months later after they had split again.
Kyrgios’s court case had been adjourned from October to give his legal team time to prepare a psychiatric report to support their application, with the lawyers’ and the court’s clashing schedules forcing the case to be delayed until Friday.
Kyrgios has spoken publicly about his mental health struggles throughout his career.
He described his performance at the 2019 Australian Open had been “one of my darkest periods” despite it being a time when “most would assume I was doing ok mentally or enjoying my life”.
“I was lonely, depressed, negative, abusing alcohol, drugs, pushed away family and friends,” he said.
“I felt as if I couldn’t talk or trust anyone. This was a result of not opening up and refusing to lean on my loved ones and simply just push myself little by little to be positive.”
His lawyers previously told the court Kyrgios had experienced mental health issues which been disclosed in his medical records over the past seven years.
Kyrgios spoke about his court case while he was playing in the Japan Open in October, telling reporters in Tokyo he had been dealing with it “for months” and was taking it “day by day”.
“There’s only so much I can control and I’m taking all the steps and dealing with that off the court,” Kyrgios said at the time.
