A woman accused by Nick Kyrgios of being drunk and distracting him during the men’s final at Wimbledon in July is threatening to sue the Australian for defamation.
Anna Palus, a Polish lawyer, was temporarily removed from Center Court following the outburst of Kyrgios, which she said contained “a reckless and totally baseless allegation against me”.
Kyrgios, who lost the final to Novak Djokovic, told referee Renaud Lichtenstein: “She distracts me when I serve in the Wimbledon final. There is no greater reason. You didn’t believe me and then she did it again, it almost cost me the game. Why is she still here? She’s completely drunk…is she talking to me mid-game, what’s acceptable?”
When Lichtenstein said he didn’t know who Kyrgios was referring to, the player said, “I know exactly which one it is, it’s the one with the dress, the one that looks like she’s had about 700 drinks bro.”
Palus, who was ushered out before she was allowed to return, said after the game that she only had two drinks and encouraged Kyrgios.
On Tuesday, she said she attended the final with her mother and had been looking forward to it for some time. “During the final, Nick Kyrgios made a reckless and totally unfounded allegation against me,” she said.
“Not only did this cause significant damage on the day, resulting in my being temporarily removed from the arena, but Mr Kyrgios’ false accusation was sent to and read by millions of people around the world, which me and caused great harm and suffering to my family.
“I am not argumentative but after much deliberation I have come to the conclusion that I have no choice but to direct my attorneys, Brett Wilson LLP, to commence defamation proceedings against Mr. Kyrgios in order to clear my name. The need to obtain justification and to prevent a repeat of the allegation are the only grounds for taking legal action.”
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She said any damages recovered would be donated to charity and that she was prepared to go to the Supreme Court if Kyrgios did not offer an “immediate resolution of this matter”.
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Palus was allowed back during the finals after being given water. Immediately after the game, she told the Sun: “He [Kyrgios] always says the crowd is against him and I wanted to show that we were for him, I wanted to encourage him.
“I only had a Pimm’s and a rosé. It’s the temperature for me, I didn’t have a hat. I’m really sorry.”
Kyrgios faces separate charges in Australia for joint assault. At a hearing at the Australian Capital Territory Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, the case was adjourned until October 4 after the judge rejected a request by Kyrgios’ lawyer to delay the trial until November 25.
The Guardian has reached out to its agent for comment.
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