Nick Kyrgios' guilty plea and non-conviction for common assault of ex-girlfriend explained by legal expert Sam Macedone

Tennis Australia and the ATP Tour are yet to reveal any potential sanctions he may still face over the matter, and have not responded to The Canberra Times.

Kyrgios pleaded guilty to common assault on Friday, admitting to the ACT Magistrates Court that he pushed his former girlfriend Chiara Passari to the ground during an argument between the pair in Canberra in January 2021.

The common assault charge can carry a maximum sentence of two years in prison, but Kyrgios escaped without a conviction as magistrate Beth Campbell came to the "straightforward" ruling to dismiss the charge after considering all the details of the case.

"This is a situation where any young person facing a court for the first time would more than likely not get a conviction for something like this," prominent criminal lawyer Sam Macedone told The Canberra Times.

During the "loud verbal argument" at Passari's apartment, Kyrgios tried to leave to get an Uber. Passari stood in the doorway, at which point Kyrgios told her, "leave me the f--- alone" and "just f---ing piss off".

He first grabbed her by the waist to remove her from the doorway, but she returned. Kyrgios pushed her by the shoulders, causing her to fall down onto the brick pavement where she grazed her knee and cried. He then left in the Uber.

The incident was reported later that year in December after they parted.

"It wasn't the sort of assault where someone goes out and smashes someone, punches them in the head, or kicks them intentionally to cause injury," Macedone said.

"He wanted to do the right thing and get away from an argument.

"His intentions were pretty good, but the way in which he dealt with them by pushing her away was not proper, in that it was technically an assault.

"But it's the sort of assault that a court would not necessarily convict you for if you've apologised, you've accepted that you were doing the wrong thing, and you've done something about your [mental health] condition."

Kyrgios failed to have his charge dismissed on mental impairment grounds, but detailed his mental health battle and ongoing treatment to the court.

Passari said in her victim statement that she was traumatised by the incident with Kyrgios, she couldn't eat, lost weight, and struggled to maintain romantic relationships thereafter, however the magistrate said it was "difficult to attribute all of those things to a push".

"The court is really concerned about how serious the matter is, why it happened the way it did, what was behind it all, and they've got to determine whether it's very serious to not so serious," Macedone said.

"When they compare this case to the usual assault cases that come before it, you can see why they say, 'Well, this is at the bottom end, and I'm not going to convict this bloke and give him a criminal record for the rest of his life'.

"There's domestic violence, and there's domestic violence.

"She would have felt intimidated but you've got to look at the whole picture.

"Was she simply at an innocent place, doing an innocent thing, and then was violated by being pushed for no reason at all? No. She was in an argument, he wanted to get away ... and she prevented him from going."

Macedone said while Kyrgios wasn't convicted in this case, if another similar incident occurred, he might expect a different outcome.

"I don't think this will ever happen again. And if it does, then you get no leniency whatsoever," he said.

"Most people in this country are given one opportunity. It's as simple as that. And that's why that provision is in the law."

Kyrgios shared a statement on Instagram on Friday evening to his 3.3 million followers about the case.

"I respect today's ruling and I'm grateful to the court for dismissing the charges without conviction," he wrote.

"I was not in a good place when this happened and I reacted to a difficult situation in a way I deeply regret. I know it wasn't OK and I'm sincerely sorry for the hurt I caused.

"Mental health is tough. Life can seem overwhelming. But I've found that getting help and working on myself has allowed me to feel better and to be better.

"I can never thank [current girlfriend] Costeen, my family and friends enough for supporting me through this process. I now plan to focus on recovering from injury and moving forward in the best way possible."

The 27-year-old is currently recovering at his family home in Canberra following knee surgery that ruled him out of the Australian Open last month.

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