Tennis stars catfished by fake tennis player's inspiring story

Serena Williams was among many Tennis stars who were catfished by Darko Grncarov. Photo / Getty

A young tennis star has been outed as a fraud after he captured the tennis world by his inspiring story.

20-year-old Darko Grncarov gained the praise of tennis stars, including Grand Slam Champion Serena Williams, after sharing his inspiring desire to return to competitive tennis after a six-month coma.

Grncarov first gained social media attention when he refused to play at Margaret Court Arena during the Australian Open due to social stances and because of the namesake's homophobic remarks.

His social media popularity then boomed last June after he tweeted that he had suffered a stroke, went into a coma, and had just recently woken.

Williams followed and direct messaged Grncarov on Twitter, telling him how inspiring his story was and "what an honour it would be for her and her new born daughter to meet him".

It was then revealed that Grncarov had actually played very little competitive tennis and touted wins from matches that never happened.

Name a scam bigger than darko grncarov

— Cherry (@samstenn1s) February 13, 2018

I suppose Darko Grncarov is back into coma now?

— Oleg S. (@AnnaK_4ever) February 12, 2018

This whole Darko Grncarov thing is freaking me out. How did we ALL fall for this? Oh my goodness.

— Rush 🐠 (@drivevolleys) February 13, 2018

Although Gncarov shared videos of himself playing tennis, he never showed his face and suspiciously switched between playing left-handed and right-handed.

In multiple media reports, Grncarov was listed as Viktor Trioki's doubles partner, but when questioned, the former world No.12 said he didn't even know him.

"Great stories, wow," Troicki said.

"I never heard of the guy."

Viktor Troicki shut down claims of being Darko Grncarov's doubles partner. Photo / Getty

Things became difficult to decipher after Grncarov tweeted that he had been offered a sponsorship with Adidas to which the company even tweeted back saying "Welcome to the family, Darko".

But since January 15, when Grncarov sat down for an interview with BBC to discuss his incredible story, he has avoided and dismissed all video and phone requested interviews.

The young hoax has also deleted many of his social media accounts.