Nick Kyrgios has settled a legal case with a tennis fan he accused of being "drunk and out of her mind" during the Wimbledon final earlier this year.
Kyrgios took on Novak Djokovic in his first ever Grand Slam final back in July and, unsurprisingly, it was a controversial one. The Australian was defeated by Djokovic 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6, but midway through accused a spectator of distracting him whilst serving.
He 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 the fan in question by 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."
The fan in question was Anna Palus, who was removed from Centre Court before eventually being allowed to return. Following the controversy, Palus instructed solicitors to take legal action against Kyrgios in a defamation case.
In a statement, the tennis fan accused the Wimbledon finalist of making a "reckless and entirely baseless allegation". Four months on, the Australian has now issued an apology.
In a statement via Knight Temple Law, Kyrgios said: "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. I accept that belief was mistaken, and I apologise. To make amends, I have donated £20,000 to the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, a charity chosen by Ms Palus. I will not be commenting on this matter again."
