Venus Williams' boyfriend Andrea Preti drops 2-word reaction to Reilly Opelka's crushing Italian Open loss

Venus Williams' boyfriend Andrea Preti delivered a brief reaction to Reilly Opelka playing against Learner Tien at the ongoing 2025 Italian Open. The match ended in defeat for Opelka.

On Thursday, May 8, Opelka clashed against Tien in a first-round contest in Rome. Tien won the first set 6-4, but was made to work extremely hard by Opelka in the second set, which eventually went to a tiebreak. Here, the 19-year-old did wonderfully well to hold his nerve against his much more experienced opponent. Ultimately, the youngster sealed the set 7-6(11).

Andrea Preti, an actor and producer who is currently in a romantic relationship with tennis legend Venus Williams, followed the Italian Open clash intently. Showing support for Reilly Opelka, Preti took to his Instagram Stories and shared a post. It featured a picture of the former ATP No. 17 waiting to return Tien's serve. Preti captioned the post:

"@reillyopelka let's go 🔨🔨🔨"

Venus Williams' boyfriend Andrea Preti's Instagram post in support of Reilly Opelka at the 2025 Italian Open, dated Thursday, May 8, 2025 (Source: Instagram/andreapreti88)

Interestingly, Williams herself shares a close bond with Opelka. The two were even rumored to be dating a few years ago. However, when the seven-time singles Grand Slam champion was asked if there was any substance to the rumors, she issued a brief but telling response.

Venus Williams cleared the air over Reilly Opelka relationship rumors in 2021

During the 2021 tennis season, Venus Williams and Reilly Opelka were often spotted together. This led to swirling rumors about the pair being in a romantic relationship. A follower of Williams asked the former WTA No. 1 if she was indeed seeing Opelka during an Instagram Q&A session.

The tennis legend playfully issued the following response, which put the rumors to bed once and for all:

"No @ReillyOpelka shot me down"

Earlier in the same year, Opelka laid bare his appreciation and admiration for Williams in an interview with Inside Tennis.

"She’s an absolute badass. I learned more from her than any other active player. She’s brilliant – a fierce competitor. She works extremely differently than anyone else. The great ones think differently. And she’s hilarious – she has a great sense of humor. I enjoy being around her and learning from her," Opelka said.

Williams is 44 now, but is yet to announce her retirement from professional tennis. Opelka made his tennis comeback in July last year after two long years of dealing with injury troubles. He is ranked World No. 94 right now in the ATP Tour's singles rankings.

About the author

Sudipto is a Tennis journalist at Sportskeeda holding a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. He has an experience of 3+ years across the market research, travel, health, lifestyle and sports sectors.

Sudipto has followed Tennis since the early 2000s and stays up-to-date with the sport by following both active and former Tennis players, and seasoned journalists. He also follows ATP and WTA updates, watches documentaries and interviews of professionals, and only reads esteemed publications. He sources all information for his articles only from credible publications stays away from unsubstantiated claims. In just a matter of 3 months, he has gained a readership of almost 2 million at Sportskeeda!

Sudipto admires Rafael Nadal for his fiercely competitive on-court nature and his ability to make memorable comebacks after injury layoffs. The Spaniard may be the GOAT for him, but he also respects the accomplishments of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Beyond Tennis, Sudipto also has an interest in music, football, and video games alongside cooking and traveling.

Know More

Venus Williams and Father Richard recall one match that 7-time Grand Slam champion "should have won"

Edited by Sudipto Pati