Tennis star Nick Kyrgios avoids conviction after pleading guilty to assaulting ex-girlfriend

Kyrgios submitted the guilty plea as his lawyers argued the charge should be dismissed on mental health grounds.

The tennis star pushed ex-partner Chiara Passari onto the pavement during a row in Canberra in 2021, the court heard.

And while his guilty plea confirmed Kyrgios accepted he at fault for the incident, the magistrate in Canberra called the incident "a single act of stupidity or frustration" when sparing him a criminal record.

Kyrgios released a statement after the ruling as he thanked the court for the ruling.

"I was not in good place when this happened and I reacted to a difficult situation in a way I deeply regret," he said.

"I know it wasn't OK and I'm sincerely sorry for the hurt I caused."

When sentencing Mr Kyrgios, Magistrate Beth Campbell said he had been "a young man trying to extricate himself from a heighted emotional situation".

"You acted in the heat of the moment," she said.

"I am dealing with you in the same way I would deal with any young man in this court. You are a young man who happens to hit a tennis ball particularly well."

Psychologist Sam Borenstein spoke on behalf of the tennis player in court and suggested his mental health issues were "recurrent" and he had suffered from thoughts of self harm.

Kyrgios spoke candidly about his performance at the 2019 Australian Open in February of last year, suggesting he had lived through "one of the darkest periods".

“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.”