Rival shares Nick Kyrgios' number online in brutal birthday prank

Nick Kyrgios got a huge shock on Monday when he was the victim of a brutal social media stitch-up by friend and rival Stefanos Tsitsipas on his 25th birthday.

The Australian star received a flood of well wishes on Monday as he turned 25, but Tsitsipas had different plans for marking the occasion.

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The Greek star posted an image of himself on Instagram, holding up a sign that read ‘Call me’ accompanied by a phone number.

But to Kyrgios’ horror it was his number.

Of course curious fans started ringing Kyrgios and inundating him with messages.

“You are an absolute idiot, everyone stop calling me!!!!!” the Australian posted.

Kyrgios’ number was disconnected a short time later.

Kyrgios slaps down Federer’s merger idea

Last week Kyrgios emphatically rejected Roger Federer’s call to unite the men’s and women’s tennis tours under one governing body.

Federer sparked a frenzy on Wednesday when he called for a merger between the ATP Tour and WTA, with lower-level professionals in deep financial crisis because of the sport's shutdown due to the coronavirus.

The 20-time grand slam champion received overwhelming support from fellow players, however Kyrgios was not among them.

Kyrgios responded ‘Yes’ after Federer tweeted: “Am I the only one thinking that now is the time for men’s and women’s tennis to be united and come together as one?”

After some confusion about what Kyrgios was referring to, the Australian clarified his stance.

“Did anyone ask the majority of the ATP what they think about merging with the WTA and how it is good for us?” he later wrote on Twitter.

The tennis season was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the hiatus will continue at least until mid-July, depriving lower-level players, who depend solely on tournament winnings, of the chance to earn a living.

“I am picturing a merger between the WTA and ATP,” Federer tweeted.

“I am not talking about merging competition on the court, but merging the 2 governing bodies (ATP and WTA) that oversee the men's and women's professional tours ...”

Tennis enjoys a massive worldwide following but its governance remains fractious with as many as seven associations running different parts the game.

Besides the ATP and the WTA Tours, the sport is also controlled by the International Tennis Federation and the boards of the four grand slam tournaments.

“It's too confusing for the fans when there are different ranking systems, different logos, different websites, different tournament categories,” the 38-year-old Swiss continued.

“It probably should have happened a long time ago, but maybe now is really the time.

“These are tough times in every sport and we can come out of this with 2 weakened bodies or 1 stronger body.”

with AAP