Tennis superstar Nick Kyrgios will seek to have an assault charge against him dismissed on mental health grounds, Australian media reported on Tuesday.
Kyrgios’ lawyer appeared for him at a hearing at Canberra Magistrates’ Court, where the Australian player is facing a common assault charge.
The 27-year-old Wimbledon finalist, who was not required to appear for the largely administrative audience, is in Tokyo for the Japan Open.
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His lawyer, Michael Kukulies-Smith, requested a postponement to allow time for a mental health evaluation, according to media such as the ABC public network and the Sydney Morning Herald.
Kukulies-Smith said his client’s mental health issues were well known and he would seek to have the charge dismissed at a later date, they said.
The World No. 20, in his first tournament since losing in the US Open quarterfinals last month, said on Monday he had been dealing with the case “for months” and was taking it “day by day”.
“There is so much that I can control and I am taking all the steps and dealing with it off the court,” Kyrgios, one of the most controversial figures in tennis, told reporters in Tokyo.
“I can just do what I can and I’m here in Tokyo and I’m just trying to play good tennis, continue that momentum and just try to do my job, and that’s playing tennis, playing it well. That is all.”
Kyrgios is likely to appear in person when the hearing returns to court.
The next hearing on the matter is scheduled for February 3.
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