Nick Kyrgios to fight assault charges on mental health grounds

Australia Tennis star Nick Kyrgios has decided to fight the assault charges imposed on him by the Canberra Police. The incident happened in January 2021 and was reported 12 months later. This involves his former girlfriend. The 27-year-old was charged with the crime in July this year and since then, he has been battling a legal battle. According to local law, the charge can be dismissed by the magistrate if the accused is mentally impaired.

The law says that the convict can be sentenced to a maximum of two years of imprisonment. Lawyer Michael Kukulies-Smith has been representing the star player. He asked for the adjournment of the case to get some time to prepare Nick’s forensic mental health reports. Magistrate Glenn Theakston adjourned the case until February 3 next year. Notably, the Aussie will appear in court for the first time since being charged.

I was lonely, depressed, negative – Nick Kyrgios

In 2019, the star player posted a long message on Instagram. At that time, he spoke about his struggle with mental health and how it was a bad phase for him. Notably, the same phase has been regarded as one of the best for him as a player. In a long message, he wrote his loneliness and pushing his loved ones away.

I was lonely, depressed, negative, abusing alcohol, drugs, pushed away family and friends,? he wrote on Instagram. ?I felt as if I couldn’t talk or trust anyone. This was a result of not opening up and refusing to lean on my loved ones and simply just push myself little by little to be positive.? Kyrgios made further references to his mental health struggles during his runs to the final at Wimbledon and the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open. After ending Daniil Medvedev’s U.S. Open title defense last month to reach the quarterfinals, Kyrgios expressed pride at lifting himself out of ?some really tough situations, mentally? and ?some really scary places? off the court.