Nick Kyrgios has issued a public apology after pleading guilty to pushing over his former girlfriend and having the assault charge dismissed.
The tennis star fronted the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday where a bid to have the charge thrown out on mental health grounds was rejected.
But magistrate Beth Campbell later dismissed the charge, accepting the seriousness of the matter was “low-level” and indicating Kyrgios was not a risk of reoffending.
The world No.20 was charged over a late-night incident from January 10, 2021 when he pushed over his ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari following an argument outside her apartment in inner-city Canberra suburb Kingston.
The court heard Ms 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.
Ms Passari reported shoulder pain along with grazing on her knee.
Kyrgios had told Ms 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.
Ms Passari didn’t report the incident until 10 months later, when the couple split after getting back together following the incident.
Kyrgios’s lawyer Michael Kukulies-Smith asked the charges be dismissed under the 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 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 Ms Campbell found Kyrgios was not mentally impaired, pointing to Dr Borenstein’s evidence he was not suffering from depression.
Mr 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.
“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 Ms Passari said she felt “betrayed” by Kyrgios, suffering long-term effects including severe weight loss.
Ms 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”.
She said a combination of it being a one-off incident, not deliberately planned, his lack of criminal record and glowing character references justified not issuing a sanction.
Kyrgios, 27, arrived in court flanked by family members and partner Costeen Hatzi.
He entered on crutches after having knee surgery last week.
Kyrgios issued a written statement after court, saying he was grateful to the court for dismissing the charge.
“I was not in a good place when this took place and I reacted to a difficult situation in a way I deeply regret. I know it wasn’t OK and I’m sincerely sorry for the hurt I caused,” he said.
“Mental health is tough. Life can seem overwhelming. But I’ve found that getting help and working on myself has helped me to feel better and to be better.”
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