The legal representatives of tennis player Nick Kyrgios argued Tuesday before an Australian court that the athlete suffers from mental health problems with the aim of dismissing the abuse charges filed against him.
The 27-year-old player was charged in July with a common assault charge for allegedly mistreating Chiara Passari -his ex-girlfriend- in December 2021 and faces, if convicted, a two-year prison sentence.
Judge Glenn Theakston, of the Australian Capital Territory Magistrates’ Court, today accepted that an evaluation of Kyrgios’s mental health be carried out and postponed the process until February 3, at the request of the defense, reports the chain of the local TV Nine.
Kyrgios did not appear at the hearing at the Japan Open in Tokyo, although his lawyer insisted in court that his client “prefers to appear in person” at the trial, the source added.
Kyrgios’ lawyer, Michael Kukulies-Smith, relies on “his client’s medical history from 2015, including public disclosures of his mental health issues,” without going into further detail, The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper notes.
