A magistrate has knocked back Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios’ bid for a three-month adjournment in his assault case.
The case went to the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning.
The 27-year-old was not in court for the mention as he remains in America before the US Open, but was represented by Canberra solicitor Michael Kukulies-Smith who asked the matter be listed for November 25 where he would make an application.
The common assault charge relates to an incident in January 2021 that was reported to ACT police in December.
The charge reportedly relates to an incident with his ex-girlfriend Chiara Passar.
Mr Kukulies-Smith would not foreshadow the nature of the application, but said it would be capable of finalising the matter.
He said the November date was appropriate for Kyrgios as he spends “very little time in the ACT”.
But magistrate Louise Taylor was unimpressed, saying she was “not quite certain what the case for secrecy is” regarding Mr Kukulies-Smith’s foreshadowed application.
She also did not agree with granting Kyrgios his preferred date for the matter due to his tennis schedule, which sees him frequently outside Australia.
“Lots of defendants have matters they might like the court to accommodate,” Ms Taylor said.
The prosecution told the court they did not support the secret nature of Mr Kukulies-Smith’s application.
Kyrgios was granted a six-week adjournment until October 4, when his lawyer will make representations supporting his application.
The case comes off the back of the world No.26 losing to Taylor Fritz at the Cincinnati Open, failing to make the final 16.
The US Open begins on August 29 and Kyrgios is expected to be a factor after his brilliant showing at Wimbledon, where he reached the final before falling to Novak Djokovic.
It remains unclear if he will appear in person at the October 4 hearing, but it would clash with ATP tournaments in Tokyo and Astana that begin the day before.
The request for the matter to be listed on November 25 would have seen it occur after the conclusion of the tennis season, which wraps up with the ATP finals in Turin the week of November 14.
Asked for his reaction after the allegations were made public in July during his Wimbledon run, Kyrgios relied on his lawyers’ advice to not offer comment other than to say it had affected his performance.
“I’m only human,” he told reporters.
“Obviously I read about it and obviously everyone else was asking questions. It was hard, it was hard to kind of just focus on the mission at hand.
“I have a lot of thoughts, a lot of things I want to say, kind of my side about it … obviously I’ve been advised by my lawyers that I’m unable to say anything at this time.”
