Nick Kyrgios
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has settled his legal case with a fan he accused of being "drunk and out of her mind" during the Wimbledon final earlier this year. Kyrgios was facing Novak Djokovic in his first-ever Grand Slam final in July and was entangled in controversy.
The Australian was defeated by Djokovic 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6, but midway through the match, he was seen accusing an audience member of distracting him while serving. The spectator Anna Palus said that the 27-year-old had defamed her by making "a reckless and entirely baseless allegation" and began legal action in August. She also added that any damages, if she wins, would be donated to charity.
"I told the umpire that a fan, who I now know to be Anna Palus, was distracting me during the match, believing that she was drunk," Kyrgios said in the statement. "I accept that belief was mistaken, and I apologise. To make amends, I have donated 20,000 pounds to the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, a charity chosen by Ms Palus. I will not be commenting on this matter again."
Nick Kyrgios has been on a terrific run of form in the second half of 2022, as won a title in Washington and reached his maiden grand slam singles final at Wimbledon and also made the US Open quarter-finals in New York.
Going back to the incident, Kyrios was heard shouting at the umpire: "She’s distracting me when I’m serving in Wimbledon final. There’s no other bigger occasion. You didn’t believe me and then she’s did it again, it nearly cost me the game. Why’s she still here? She’s drunk out of her mind… speaking to me in the middle of the game, what’s acceptable?”
The 27-year-old was then asked to point out who was the person distracting him by the umpire, Renaud Lichtenstein, to which he responded, "I know exactly which one it is, it’s the one with the dress, the one who looks like she’s had about 700 drinks bro."
