Father of Australian tennis star arrested in connection with child molestation case

The father of an Australian tennis star was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of molesting two children, a sheriff’s official said.

Nikolaos Philippoussis, a 68-year-old tennis coach, was taken into custody at his Mira Mesa home about 9 a.m.

Officials released few details about the investigation, saying only that the children involved were under the age of 14 and were students of Philippoussis’.

After searching the house and seizing evidence, the coach was booked into jail on a dozen counts of committing lewd or lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 and two counts of committing sexual acts with a child younger than 10 years old, San Diego County Sheriff’s Lt. Greg Rylaarsdam said.

The accused is the father of Mark Philippoussis, a retired tennis player from Australia who once was ranked eighth worldwide in singles.

The older Philippoussis was a central figure in his son’s career and at times served as his coach and manager, Australian media outlets reported.

“At this point, nothing indicates that there are other victims, but anyone with information about this case should call us,” Rylaarsdam said.

Investigators can be reached at (858) 974-2310.

Winkley writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @LAWinkley