Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios' assault case moving forward, set to resume in October
- Michael Schmitt
- 23 August 2022
An Australian court has rejected a request from Nick Kyrgios' lawyers to have his court case delayed by three months.
Kyrgios is accused of assaulting his former partner Chiara Passari in an incident that occurred in January 2021.
The tennis ace was not present when the matter was heard before magistrate Louise Taylor in the Australian Capital Territory Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning.
The maximum sentence for the charge is two years.
His legal representative Michael Kukulies-Smith requested an adjournment on the basis that his client spent little time in the Australian Capital Territory, but would not divulge further details.
"I'm not quite certain what the case for secrecy is," Magistrate Louise Taylor told Kukulies-Smith in Canberra.
"Lots of defendants have matters they'd like the court to accommodate," she added.
The case has been adjourned until October 4.
The accusations against Kyrgios first surfaced during his recent run to the Wimbledon final.
Australian Capital Territory policing confirmed on July 5 that the Australian had been summoned to face a charge of assaulting his former girlfriend.
"It's in the context of a domestic relationship," said Kyrgios' barrister, Jason Moffett, at the time. "The nature of the allegation is serious, and Mr Kyrgios takes the allegation very seriously.
"Given the matter is before the court... he doesn't have a comment at this stage, but in the fullness of time we'll issue a media release."
Kyrgios' only comment on the matter was after a practice session at Wimbledon. Asked about the allegation, he replied, "I feel like I'm in the Last Dance," a reference to the Netflix documentary series about NBA legend Michael Jordan.
The world number 26 has performed well on the court since Wimbledon - including winning the Washington Open and reaching the Canadian Open quarter-finals - and will be seeded at the US Open, which begins on August 29.
