Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios will apply to have an assault cost dismissed on psychological well being grounds, his lawyer advised an Australian court docket on Tuesday.
Lawyer Michael Kukulies-Smith appeared on behalf of Mr Kyrgios in a court docket on the earth quantity 20’s hometown of Canberra and requested for an adjournment so forensic psychological well being experiences could possibly be ready.
Justice of the Peace Glenn Theakston adjourned the case till February 3 when Mr Kyrgios’ attorneys are anticipated to use to have the cost dismissed underneath a bit of the native crimes legislation.
The 27-year-old Australian tennis star will seem in court docket in particular person on that date for the primary time since he was charged by police by summons in July.
The legislation offers magistrates the ability to dismiss a cost if they're happy an accused particular person is mentally impaired, and that coping with an allegation in that method would profit the group and the defendant.
The widespread assault cost, which has a possible most sentence of two years in jail, pertains to an alleged incident in January 2021 that was reported to native police final December.
The cost reportedly pertains to an incident involving Kyrgios’ former girlfriend.
Mr Kukulies-Smith advised the court docket his shopper’s psychological well being historical past since 2015 made the applying applicable, citing numerous public statements made by Mr Kyrgios.
In February, Mr Kyrgios opened up about his efficiency on the 2019 Australian Open, saying what seemed to be a constructive time in his life had been “considered one of my darkest durations”.
“I used to be lonely, depressed, destructive, abusing alcohol, medicine, pushed away household and mates,” he wrote on Instagram. “I felt as if I couldn’t speak or belief anybody. This was a results of not opening up and refusing to lean on my family members and easily simply push myself little by little to be constructive.”
Mr Kyrgios made additional references to his psychological well being struggles throughout his runs to the ultimate at Wimbledon, which he misplaced to Novak Djokovic, and the US Open quarter-finals.
After ending Daniil Medvedev’s US Open title defence final month to achieve the quarter-finals, Mr Kyrgios expressed delight at lifting himself out of “some actually powerful conditions, mentally” and “some actually scary locations” off the court docket.
Mr Theakston questioned whether or not Mr Kyrgios would want to look in court docket for the February listening to, however Mr Kukulies-Smith mentioned his shopper wished to attend.
Mr Kyrgios was scheduled to play on the Japan Open in a while Tuesday towards Tseng Chun-hsin of Taiwan.
Talking in Tokyo earlier than his matter returned to court docket, Mr Kyrgios mentioned it was “not tough in any respect” to deal with tennis regardless of the pending cost.
“There’s solely a lot I can management and I’m taking all of the steps and coping with that off the court docket,” he advised reporters.
“I can solely do what I can and I’m right here in Tokyo and simply attempting to play some good tennis, proceed that momentum and simply attempt to do my job.”