By Paul Sakkal
Nick Kyrgios has had an assault charge dismissed by a magistrate after he pleaded guilty to shoving over his ex-girlfriend in 2021.
The tennis star fronted the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday where a bid to have the assault charge thrown out on mental health grounds was rejected.
But magistrate Beth Campbell threw out the charge, accepting the seriousness of the matter was “low-level” and indicating Kyrgios was not a risk of reoffending.
Nick Kyrgios arriving at ACT Magistrates Court on Friday.Credit: James Brickwood
The magistrate said the publicity of the trial, the time that has elapsed since the incident, and the fact that it appeared to be a one-off incident, meant the case did not warrant a conviction. Common assault carries a maximum sentence of two years in jail.
The world No.20 was charged with a late-night incident from January 10, 2021 where he pushed over his ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari following an argument outside her apartment in inner-city Canberra suburb Kingston.
The court heard Passari was standing in the door of an Uber preventing Kyrgios from leaving when he pushed her over.
He stood over her and remarked “seriously” while she lay on the ground.
Passari reported shoulder pain along with grazing on her knee.
Kyrgios had told Passari to “leave me the f--- alone” and to “just f---ing piss off” while she asked him to get out of the car and to calm down.
Passari didn’t report the incident until 10 months later. The pair had a tumultuous relationship, briefly reconciling after the altercation but split for good months later.
Kyrgios’s lawyer Michael Kukulies-Smith asked the charges be dismissed under a section of the local crimes act that lets a magistrate dismiss a charge if they think an accused is mentally impaired and that it would benefit the community along with the offender.
Psychologist Dr Sam Borenstein gave evidence Kyrgios suffered major and recurring depression and anxiety, adding he relied on drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism.
He said that included suicidal ideation and intent.
But Campbell found Kyrgios was not mentally impaired, pointing to Borenstein’s evidence he was not suffering from depression.
Kukulies-Smith then asked she not record a conviction given the low seriousness of the offending, saying he had immediately taken responsibility for the offending.
Nick Kyrgios leaves court on Friday afternoon. Credit: James Brickwood
“It was not an action to impose himself on her to win that argument, rather … he had clearly sought to remove himself from the argument,” he said.
A victim impact statement from Passari said she felt “betrayed” by Kyrgios, suffering long-term effects including severe weight loss.
Campbell said Kyrgios had acted out of “stupidity or frustration”, but credited him with trying to leave “when you knew you were being triggered … and needed to get away from the situation”.
Kyrgios uttered only a few words as he was swamped by reporters on his walk to a car waiting for him outside court.
“Just recovery, get back on court,” he said when asked about his immediate plans.
On crutches due to a knee injury that kept him out of the Australian Open, Kyrgios was asked when he predicted he would appear on court next. He appeared to respond by saying he would be playing the game Mario Tennis, a spinoff from the Mario Kart video game series.
A short time after leaving court, Kyrgios posted a short statement to social media, saying he was “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 I deeply regret,” he wrote in an Instagram post.
“I know it wasn’t OK and I’m sincerely sorry for the hurt I caused.
“Mental health is tough. Life can seem overwhelming. But I’ve found that getting help and working on myself has allowed me to feel better and better.”
He went on to thank his family, friends and current girlfriend Costeen Hatzi for supporting him through the process.
“I now plan to focus on recovering from injury and moving forward in the best possible way,” he wrote.
Kyrgios’ brother Christos declined to answer questions from the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age as he left courtroom 1 in Canberra’s law courts, near the nation’s parliament.
His family, friends and girlfriend hugged one another before he walked out of the court building.
With AAP
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