"He sat down at the table and grabbed my hand, it hurt a lot; he had a feeling that I could never go to the police" - Nikoloz Basilashvili's ex-wife tells court in domestic abuse case

Domestic abuse allegations from Nikoloz Basilashvili's ex-wife Neka Dorokashvili generated a lot of headlines back in 2020. Dorokashvili, a fashion model, leveled charges of physical assault on the Georgian No. 1 and the case went a long way in shedding light on domestic violence in the former Soviet Republic state.

Players such as Andy Murray even called for a formal domestic violence policy on the ATP tour to deal with instances, just as court proceedings — lawsuits were filed by both parties in the case — unfolded back in Georgia away from the global public glare.

However, Dorokashvili has now come forward with a detailed account of the alleged abuse — which, according to her, began on the day she married Basilashvili himself. Recalling the events of the wedding, she said the tennis player had forcefully grabbed her hand after an argument with his mother.

Dorokashvili said that more than anything, it was an emotionally difficult moment for her as it was then that she realized that she had married "a completely different person" from who she had been dating.

"We met in 2011, after a year and a half we decided to get married, we officially got married in September," Dorokashvili told the court. "Talking about this is emotional for me, but I will try to remember all the facts. It will be difficult to recount eight years of cohabitation in one day."

"What was very unexpected for me, on the day of the wedding, the woman should be happy, I was very unhappy - on the evening of the wedding, Nicholas's mother got angry about something, quarreled with Nicoloz," she continued. "He sat down at my table and grabbed my hand from under the table. It hurt a lot, but emotionally it was more difficult. I found out on the wedding day that I met a completely different person."

Elaborating further, Dorokashvili said that Basilashvili began humiliating her, calling her derogatory names five or six months after their wedding. Physical violence, she said, began soon after that.

She stated that the former top-20 player declared her to be a "subordinate" and treated her poorly, thinking that she would never approach the police. She added that the abuse also continued during and after her 2015 pregnancy.

"Five to six months after the wedding, I started to be humiliated, referred to in a derogatory way," Dorokashvili said. "This was followed by physical violence... there was a case when I lay on the bed after a fight and cold water was poured into my ear with my eyes closed."

"These actions were of various kinds: rubbing with hair, putting food on my head... When he achieved some success, he announced to me that I am the king and I should behave like his subordinate," she addded. "I didn't have to say that I was going to divorce; if he didn't stop the violence, I would go to the police... I think he had a feeling that I couldn't do it."

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Nikoloz Basilashvili remotely attends court hearing in domestic abuse case

Nikoloz Basilashvili attended the trial hearing remotely,

Nikoloz Basilashvili remotely attended the trial hearing, which took place on Tuesday in a Tbilisi City Court. The tennis star, however, has consistently denied his wife's allegations.

He was first arrested by the police on May 22, 2020, after the filing of initial charges of violence by Dorokashvili. He was charged under Article 126 of the Georgian Civil Code for physical violence in the presence of a minor.

The state prosecutor's office later also clarified additional charges of psychological and economic violence against Basilashvili.