On the eve of Nick Kyrgios’ quarterfinal match at Wimbledon, his attorneys acknowledged that the Australian tennis star is set to appear in court in August to face an assault charge from an alleged incident with a former girlfriend that took place late last year, the Canberra Times reported.
Kyrgios, summoned for Aug. 2nd, is facing a charge that carries a maximum jail sentence of two years. Attorney Jason Moffett told The Canberra Times that Kyrgios is aware of the charge and is taking the matter seriously.
“The nature of the allegation is serious, and Mr. Kyrgios takes the allegation very seriously,” he told the Australian paper. “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.”
Pierre Johannessen, another of Kyrgios’ attorneys, emailed a statement to the media this week, saying that “the allegations are not considered as fact” by the court and that his client is not “considered charged” with an offense until a first appearance in court.
“While Mr. Kyrgios is committed to addressing any and all allegations once clear, taking the matter seriously does not warrant any misreading of the process Mr. Kyrgios is required to follow,” Johannessen wrote.
Kyrgios is currently competing in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in seven years. His Wimbledon run has seen a few controversies already. During the first round, a spectator was taunting him and Kyrgios responded by spitting in the direction of the heckler.
That earned Kyrgios a $10,000 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct. He got another $4,000 fine in the third round for an “audible obscenity” after a code violation during his third round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Kyrgios is taking on Cristian Garín on Wednesday at All England Club’s Court 1 at 9:45 a.m. ET.
