The former grand-slam tennis doubles champion seen as a leading contender to become the most influential figure in men’s tennis is fighting to save his career amid claims of violent behaviour dating back several years. He will appear in a Los Angeles court next month over an alleged assault.

Justin Gimelstob, 41, now a successful broadcaster, is a member of the six-man Association of Tennis Professionals board, and is regarded as well-placed to succeed ATP president Chris Kermode when he steps down.

But Gimelstob, from Newark, New Jersey, will appear in court on Dec 12 after he was arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of violently assaulting Randall Kaplan, a 50-year-old venture capitalist, in front of his wife and two-year-old daughter, on Hallowe’en.

According to a temporary restraining order filed by Kaplan the next day, Gimelstob, dressed in his trick-or-treat costume as a Top Gun pilot, is alleged to have knocked Kaplan, a friend of his estranged wife Cary, to the ground, and hit him on the head and face 50 times, shouting: “I am going to kill you.”

The hearing represents a significant threat to Gimelstob’s career. The son of an insurance magnate, his net worth is estimated to be $5.4 million (£4.2 million). He is currently on bail of $50,000.