Tennis fans slam Polish lawyer Anna Palus who’s suing Nick Kyrgios for saying she had ‘700 drinks’
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Tennis fans have slammed the lawyer who is suing Aussie star Nick Kyrgios for his ‘700 drinks’ complaint, with one labelling the Polish woman ‘pathetic’ for expecting a ‘cheap payday’.
Anna Palus, 32, was temporarily ejected from the Wimbledon men’s final after Kyrgios told the umpire she had ‘700 drinks’. She denies the claim, saying she only had two and was trying to support the tennis player.
But in a statement, the Polish medical lawyer has decided to bring defamation proceedings against Kyrgios in order to ‘clear her name’.
It was a decision that left many in the tennis world scratching their heads.
Anna Palus, 32, was temporarily ejected from the Wimbledon Grand Slam final after Kyrgios told the umpire she had ‘700 drinks’
In a statement issued through her solicitors Brett Wilson, Palus wrote: ‘On Sunday July 10 2022 I attended the final of the Wimbledon tennis championships with my mother. It was an event we had been looking forward to for some time.
‘During the course of the final, Nick Kyrgios made a reckless and entirely baseless allegation against me.
‘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.’
Anna Palus (centre), 32, who was temporarily ejected from the Wimbledon men’s final, said that the temperature impacted her while watching the game
Nick Kyrgios raged at the umpire during the Wimbledon final in July as he claimed that he was being distracted by Palus
She insisted she was not a lawyer who would usually consider this course of action, but felt she had no choice.
‘I am not litigious, but after much consideration, I have concluded that that I have no alternative but to instruct my solicitors Brett Wilson LLP to bring defamation proceedings against Mr Kyrgios in order to clear my name,’ said Palus in the statement.
‘The need to obtain vindication, and to prevent repetition of the allegation, are the only reasons for taking legal action.
‘Any damages recovered will be donated to charity. Given the extant claim, I am unable to comment further on the events of the day in question.
‘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.
‘However, if he is unwilling to do this, I am committed to obtaining vindication in the High Court,’ Palus said.
Nick Kyrgios demanded Palus was kicked out of the Wimbledon final as she ‘looks like she’s had about 700 drinks’
Fans and tennis pundits were quick to laugh off Palus’ legal manoeuvres on social media.
‘Talk about the Streisand Effect, huh? Not a soul on Earth remembered, cared, or even knew who this woman was before she filed this lawsuit today,’ Eric Hubbs wrote on Barstool Sports.
‘Now we all know Anna Palus is the woman who screamed at Kyrgios mid-match and disrupted the Wimbledon Final.’
Palus’ decision to sue Kyrgios was branded a ‘joke’, ‘pathetic’ and a ‘cheap payday’ by many, while one user wrote she will become a ‘laughing stock’ during the case.
Nick Kyrgios, flouting Wimbledon dress regulations with a red hat, accepts his trophy for being runner-up in the final against Novak Djokovic
Bizarrely, a man claiming to be a professor at the prestigious University of Sydney – an author with more than 60,000 followers – said there was no way Palus was drunk.
‘It is time to stop defaming Polish women. Polish women do not drink. If they drink, they do in moderation and do not get drunk. If they get drunk, they sing traditional folk ballads celebrating female virtues. So there,’ Wojciech Sadurski wrote on Twitter.
On the other hand, prominent Australian lawyer Matt Collins SC said Palus actually has a solid case and could be headed for an easy victory.
‘Put yourself in her (Palus) position, you’re in the stadium … you’re singled out before a global audience … from her perspective you can understand why that’s had a very serious impact on her feelings and reputation,’ he told 3AW Melbourne.
‘I think she’ll have a comfortable win.’
Nick Kyrgios took off on holidays with girlfriend Costeen Hatzi after his impressive run to the Wimbledon final
Kyrgios’ outburst came in the third set of the final, as he pointed Palus out in the crowd and claimed that she was putting him off.
‘She’s distracting me when I’m serving in a Wimbledon final,’ he fumed at the umpire about the spectator. ‘There’s no other bigger occasion, you didn’t believe me and then she did it again. It nearly cost me the game,’ he said during the game.
‘Why is she still here? She’s drunk out of her mind and speaking to me in the middle of a game. What’s acceptable?’
After the umpire replied ‘nothing is acceptable’, Kyrgios said: ‘Ok kick her out. I know exactly which one it is. The one in the dress, who looks like she’s had about 700 drinks, bro,’ said Kyrgios.
Nick Kyrgios enjoys a drink of his own after losing the Wimbledon final
Ms Palus said that the temperature impacted her while watching the game, as the mercury reached 29C on July 10.
After the incident, she told The Sun that she was trying to support Kyrgios who ‘always says the crowd is against him’. ‘I wanted to show we were for him, I wanted to encourage him,’ she said.
She also told The Telegraph that she supported the sportsman because she had suffered from depression, like him, and sympathised.
‘I wanted to give him support. Maybe I took it too far… but I only had good intentions,’ she said.
After Wimbledon, Kyrgios holidayed with girlfriend Costeen Hatzi in the Bahamas
Ms Palus said that she drank a Pimms and a rosé, after the tennis player called her ‘drunk out of her mind’.
‘It’s the temperature for me, I had no hat,’ she said. ‘I’m really sorry.’
She was given water and allowed back into the match after about 15 minutes in order to watch the rest of the final.
Kyrgios’s agent has been contacted by MailOnline for comment.