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Nick Kyrgios faces charge of assaulting ex-girlfriend in Australia

<span>Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian</span>
Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

The tennis player Nick Kyrgios is due to face a court in Australia after being summonsed to face a charge of assaulting a former girlfriend.

The 27-year-old Australian, who reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon on Monday, will appear in court in Canberra next month.

Australian Capital Territory policing confirmed on Tuesday that Kyrgios had been summonsed to face a charge of assaulting his former girlfriend. It relates to an incident in Canberra last December.

“ACT policing can confirm a 27-year-old Watson man is scheduled to face the ACT magistrates court on 2 August in relation to one charge of common assault following an incident in December 2021,” a spokesperson said.

The summons reportedly relates to an allegation that Kyrgios grabbed a former partner, according to the Canberra Times.

The maximum sentence for the charge is two years.

Kyrgios’s barrister, Jason Moffett, from Key Chambers, confirmed to the Canberra Times that his client was aware of the allegations.

“It’s in the context of a domestic relationship,” he said. “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.”

Asked about the allegation on Tuesday, Kyrgios said: “I feel like I’m in the Last Dance.” It is believed to be a reference to the Netflix TV series.

Kyrgios is in a relationship with the social media influencer Costeen Hatzi, who has joined him in London for the championships. The couple, who recently got engaged, have posted a series of photographs on Instagram, documenting their sightseeing tours of London and practice sessions at SW19.

The world No 40 faces Chile’s Cristian Garín on Court One on Wednesday for a place in the semi-finals. Wednesday’s schedule was produced two hours after news of Kyrgios’s alleged assault was made public.

Wimbledon has yet to comment on the allegations.