Volatile tennis star Nick Kyrgios called out Tennis Australia and demanded they prioritise professional players after he and doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis waited over an hour for a court to practice on while visiting Melbourne.
The Australian Open men's doubles winners visited the National Tennis Centre which boasts 20 tennis courts in total with an additional 13 outdoor courts in Melbourne Park. Kyrgios wanted some court time to train ahead of the Japan Open which starts on Saturday.
However, the world number 20, was left fuming at being initially being unable to play. In the Instagram story Kyrgios wrote: "Tennis Australia. Here for a day of training here in Melbourne and unable to get a court! When are you going to start prioritising players?
A second Instagram post was titled: "We won the Australian Open and we cannot get one court for one hour."
They were then joined by comedian Elliot Loney who joked about the situation pretending to be a news television presenter. Loney said: "'Breaking news, tennis stars Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis were left stranded without a paddle.
"As the biggest tennis academy in the world was unable to accommodate the superstars. They (Tennis Australia) gave priority treatment to the grass rooters out there. Despite winning the Australian Open and making millions of people interested in tennis the superstars were left stranded and unable to hit a single ball."
A later video posted by Kyrgios showed him on court thanking Loney and Kokkinakis, stating: "Always a pleasure boys. Iron sharpens iron. Took us over an hour to get a court, but level was always high and the competitive juices were flowing."
At last month's US Open the Australian was fined £12,000 for an outburst after his quarter-final defeat which saw him smash two rackets in anger.
During his practice session in Melbourne, Kyrigos was filmed hitting several shots before firing one into the net and pretending to smash his racket on the floor. A second video showed him serving powerfully and then lying on the floor celebrating until somebody off camera threw a tennis ball at him.
