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Reilly Opelka recently made a highly controversial suggestion to the ATP tour, urging the authorities to "get rid of" doubles tennis. According to the towering American player, the only time doubles matches gain attention is when singles players are playing doubles matches or when the now-retired Bryan brothers were active on the tour.
Safe to say, Opelka's comments did not sit well with many in the tennis fan community.
Opelka, who has not played on tour since early August 2022 due to a nagging hip injury, recently interacted with fans and followers on social media, answering their questions. In response to a fan quizzing Opelka about one change he would like to see on the ATP tour, the 25-year-old took the opportunity to take a dig at doubles tennis.
"Get rid of doubles, only time people watch are when its singles players or the bry bros," he wrote on his Instagram story.
Reacting to the same, tennis fans did not hold back in their criticism of Opelka, and many felt that his comments were in bad taste and insensitive towards doubles players.
"At this point I feel like he says stuff like this just to be a contrarian and get a reaction out of people," a fan wrote on Twitter.
"Many players survive outside the top levels of tennis because of having the chance to earn a bit more of money by playing a doubles draw. Doubles specialists more or less only exist inside the Top 100. But of course he doesn't care about that," another fan expressed.
Here are a few more reactions to Reilly Opelka's controversial take:
Reilly Opelka laments missing Indian Wells 2023, hints at comeback
Reilly Opelka recently took to social media to reveal his sponsor Fila's new collection of tennis clothing. He took the opportunity to express his disappointment at being forced to withdraw from the ongoing Indian Wells Masters tournament as he continues to recover from a serious hip injury, which also forced him to miss the last two Grand Slam tournaments. However, he suggested that he will return to the tour sooner rather than later.
"Wishing I could be rocking @filatennis Tie Breaker collection in the desert this year, but hoping to see you all on court 🔜," Reilly Opelka captioned his post on Instagram.
Opelka's last match was at the Citi Open in Washington D.C. last August, where he lost to Nick Kyrgios in the second round. He has fallen to No. 112 in the ATP rankings. The 6'11" tall player last won an ATP title back in April last year, in Houston, beating John Isner in the final.
