A woman accused by Australian tennis ace Nick Kyrgios of being “drunk out of her mind” at this year’s Wimbledon final is suing the star athlete over what she says were false allegations that have affected her entire family’s lives.
Anna Palus, a Polish lawyer, attended the event in July with her mother, but was temporarily removed from the audience after Kyrgios accused her of being intoxicated and distracting him.
“She’s distracting me when I’m serving in the Wimbledon final,” he told the umpire as he appealed for Palus’s removal from Wimbledon’s Centre Court. “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?” Kyrgios added. “Kick her out…It’s the one with the dress—the one who looks like she’s had about 700 drinks, bro.”
Kyrgios ultimately lost the Grand Slam title to Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.
Palus announced on Tuesday that she was suing Kyrgios for defamation in order to clear her name, saying that she was “not litigious” but felt she had no alternative but to file a lawsuit.
In a statement issued by her lawyers, Palus accused the tennis champion of making “a reckless and entirely baseless allegation” against her.
“Not only did this cause considerable harm on the day, resulting in my temporary removal from the arena, but Mr. Kyrgios’s false allegation was broadcast to, and read by, millions around the world, causing me and my family very substantial damage and distress,” she said.
Palus claimed the only reason she was taking legal action was to “obtain vindication, and to prevent the repetition of the allegation,” adding that any damages recovered would be donated to charity.
“I hope that Mr. Kyrgios will reflect on the harm he has caused me and my family and offer a prompt resolution to this matter,” she said in her statement. “However, if he is unwilling to do this, I am committed to obtaining vindication in [London’s] High Court.”
Representatives for Kyrgios were not immediately available for comment on the case when contacted by Fortune.
