|
Kyrgios, well known for his outbursts, complained to the umpire
during his match against Novak Djokovic in July, saying that the
fan had been talking to him during points.
Asked by the umpire to identify the fan, Kyrgios said: "The one
with the dress, the one who looks like she's had about 700
drinks, bro!"
Anna Palus said that the 27-year-old Australian had defamed her
by making "a reckless and entirely baseless allegation" and
began legal action in August, adding any damages she wins would
be donated to charity.
Kyrgios apologised in a statement released to British media by
Knight Temple Law, which represented Palus.
"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."
After years of underachieving, Kyrgios had a terrific run of
form in the second half of 2022, winning the title in Washington
and reaching his first Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon and
the U.S. Open quarter-finals.
($1 = 0.8791 pounds)
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by
Muralikumar Anantharaman)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
