Former top 20 player Bernard Tomic has found himself embroiled in fresh controversy after being named as a witness in an alleged drink spiking incident.
On March 4th the Australian and a group of friends attended the Bedroom Lounge Bar. A popular nightclub located in the Gold Coast, Queensland. At the venue a 21-year-old woman named Paige McCarthy received medical attention after being found passed out in the toilets of the nightclub by a friend.
According to Australian media reports, police are investigating a member of Tomic’s entourage in relation to the allegation. Although there is no evidence linking Tomic to any wrongdoing. McCarthy’s mother Lee has said that her daughter was ‘110%’ certain about who spiked her drink after speaking with another girl who was also there.
“The other girl was in hospital with Paige described being in the booth with the same person. Paige made her formal statement to the police this afternoon and they are taking it very seriously,” Lee said.
A spokesperson from the Bedroom Lounge Bar, Matt Keegan, has told the Courier Mail that they are yet to find any evidence of the drink being contaminated after reviewing their CCTV footage.
“Our review of her movements revealed no indication of drink-spiking by any third party in the venue,” said Keegan.
“At this stage, unfortunately, we’re unable to comment much further, as it’s the subject of an ongoing investigation.”
The incident comes as Tomic attempts to get his career back on track. The 25-year-old has been criticised by some for his effort on the court after producing a series of poor results. Last year he only managed to win ten matches on the tour. In January Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt said it was ‘highly doubtful’ that he would play in the team tournament again.
After quitting reality TV show I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!, Tomic told a New Corp podcast that he is ready to focus once again on tennis. So far in his career, he has won three ATP titles and reached a high of 17th in 2016.
“I feel like having wasted that last year made me wake up that I need to get back where I belong and maybe push to become a top-five, top-eight player,” he said last month.
There has been no comment from Tomic concerning the alleged drink spiking incident.
