SYDNEY, July 5 — Australian tennis ace Nick Kyrgios will face court after being charged with assault, his barrister told the Canberra Times newspaper today.

The news broke as the 27-year-old, one of the most polarising yet exciting figures in tennis, prepared to enter the quarter-finals at Wimbledon tomorrow.

Police in the Australian Capital Territory, where Canberra is located, released only a brief statement today evening without identifying the player.

"ACT Policing can confirm a 27-year-old Watson man is scheduled to face the ACT Magistrates court on the 2nd of August in relation to one charge of common assault following an incident in December 2021,” the statement said.

Barrister Jason Moffett told the Canberra Times that his client was aware of the charge.

"It’s in the context of a domestic relationship,” he was quoted as saying.

"The nature of the allegation is serious, and Mr Kyrgios takes the allegation very seriously.”

The barrister said Kyrgios would not comment because it was a court matter, but would release a statement "in the fullness of time”.

The world number 40 will face Chile’s Cristian Garin in Wimbledon for a place in the semi-finals.

It will be Kyrgios’s first quarter-final at the Slams since the 2015 Australian Open. — AFP