Georgian tennis player Nikoloz Basilashvili arrested on domestic violence charge

May 25, 2020

, a Georgian tennis player with current world ranking number 27, was arrested on Friday on a charge of in front of a minor. The arrest came after an allegation he assaulted Neka Dorokashvili, his ex-wife. The city court set bail yesterday at 100,000  (about US$30,000).

The charge was denied by Irma Tchkadua, Basilashvili's lawyer. Preliminary court date is July 16. The punishment for domestic abuse in front of a minor is a maximum of three years in prison or 200–400 hours of community service.

The (GFT) released a statement addressing Basilashvili's arrest. It read, "First of all, we would like to state that Georgian Tennis Federation has always condemned any form of violence [...] The incident involving Nikoloz Basilashvili is currently under police investigation and GFT will refrain from either announcing its position on the matter or making any comments until such investigation is completed."

Currently ranked 27th in the world rankings, Basilashvili reached a career high of number 16 in May 2019. He has made a career total $5,479,761 in prize money earnings, according to The Guardian.