Kyrgios Will Cancel Attack Allegations On Persons With Mental Health Reasons

JAKARTA - Tennis superstar Nick Kyrgios will seek to prevent the alleged attack against him for mental health reasons, Australian media reported Tuesday.

Kyrgios' lawyer representing the tennis player appeared at the Australian Capital District court hearing where he faces assault charges.

The 27-year-old Australian, who was not required to attend the administrative hearing, is currently in Tokyo to take part in the Japan Open.

His lawyer, Michael Kukulies-Smith, asked for a delay in granting time for mental health assessments to be carried out, according to media, including the ABC and the Sydney Morning Herald, as broadcast by AFP.

According to Australian media reports, Kukulies-Smith said his client's mental health issues were already known, and he would try to get the allegations dismissed.

The Wimbledon finalist wrote about his mental health struggle in an Instagram post earlier this year, saying he was battling depression.

"I feel as if I can't speak or trust anyone," Kyrgios wrote alongside a photo of himself from 2019, quoted by Antara.

"I've gone through the moments when it seems like those positive energetic vibrations will never come true."

The world number 20 plays in its first tournament since losing the US Open quarter-finals last month.

He said earlier on Monday that he had been working on the case "for months" and lived it "day after day."

"There's so much I can control and I take all the steps and deal with it off the pitch," Kyrgios in Tokyo.

"I can only do what I can and I'm here in Tokyo and just try to play good tennis, continue that momentum and just try to do my job -- and it's playing tennis, playing well. That's all."

Kyrgios is a favorite to win the first round of the match against Taiwanist Tseng Chun-hsin, who is ranked 87th in the world.

Kyrgios won fame at Wimbledon in 2014 aged 19 when he beat Rafael Nadal on his way to the quarter-finals.

Struggling to shine again, Kyrgios finally achieved quite good results at the recent Grand Slam.

He won the Australian Open men's doubles title with Thanasi Kokkinakis in January 2022, before losing in the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic in July.