Amid his run at tennis’ most prestigious tournament, Nick Kyrgios is facing an assault charge involving his former girlfriend, according to The Associated Press.
Kyrgios, who reached Wimbledon’s quarterfinals this past weekend, is scheduled to appear in a Canberra, Australia, courtroom on Aug. 2 to face the assault charge, according to the Australian Federal Police.
Kyrgios’s lawyer, Jason Moffett, told the Canberra Times that Kyrgios was notified about the charge and that “it’s in the context of a domestic relationship.”
“The nature of the allegation is serious, and Mr. Kyrgios takes the allegation very seriously,” Moffett said. “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 and his then-girlfriend, Chiara Passari, reportedly had to be separated by police after getting into a verbal argument at an Australian quarantine hotel after they returned to the country in October.
They were placed in separate rooms for the duration of their isolation period, according to the Australian Federal Police.
Kyrgios is in a relationship with the social media influencer Costeen Hatzi. The couple recently became engaged.
Kyrgios has faced another controversy during the tournament. He was fined for spitting in the direction of a fan whom he claimed disrespected him.
“I’ve been dealing with hate and negativity for a long time, so I don’t feel like I owed that person anything,” he said. “He literally came to the match to literally just not even support anyone, really. It was more just to stir up and disrespect. That’s fine. But if I give it back to you, then that’s just how it is.”
Over the past weekend, Kyrgios received code violations along with his opponent, Stefanos Tsitsipas. Kyrgios swore at the chair umpire while Tsitsipas almost hit someone in the crowd with a ball he slammed from the court.
In 2015, Kyrgios was fined $7,500 after he slammed his racket into the court during a match with Milos Raonic. He was fined for swearing in another match.
Later that July, he was fined $13,000 for making unsportsmanlike comments at another tournament.
The charge that Kyrgios may face carries a maximum prison sentence of two years.
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