Reilly Opelka
Reilly Opelka (born August 28, 1997) is an American tennis player. At 6 feet 11 inches tall, he is the joint-tallest ATP-ranked player ever, along with Ivo Karlović, and can serve in the low-140 mph range. He is a Junior Wimbledon champion and Redbull ambassador. He has won two ATP singles titles and reached his career-high ranking of No. 31 in October 2019.
Opelka at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships | |
Country (sports) | United States |
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Residence | Palm Coast, Florida, U.S. |
Born | St. Joseph, Michigan, U.S. | August 28, 1997
Height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
Turned pro | 2015 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Coach | Jay Berger Jean-Yves Aubone |
Prize money | US$ 2,106,134 |
Singles | |
Career record | 48–47 (50.5% in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches and in Davis Cup) |
Career titles | 2 |
Highest ranking | No. 31 (28 October 2019) |
Current ranking | No. 39 (16 November 2020) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | 2R (2019) |
French Open | 1R (2019, 2020) |
Wimbledon | 3R (2019) |
US Open | 2R (2019) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 11–14 (44.0% in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches and in Davis Cup) |
Career titles | 0 |
Highest ranking | No. 129 (31 August 2020) |
Current ranking | No. 131 (14 September 2020) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
French Open | 1R (2019) |
US Open | 2R (2017) |
Last updated on: as of 14 September 2020. |
Personal life
Opelka moved from Michigan to Palm Coast, Florida at age 4. He didn't start playing tennis regularly until he began training through USTA in Boca Raton at 12 years old.[1] He credits Tom Gullikson, whom his father knew from playing golf, for much of his early development as a tennis player.[1][2] Opelka is close friends with Taylor Fritz and was the best man at Fritz's wedding.[3] His uncle is radio talk show host Mike Opelka.
Junior career
Opelka won the 2015 Junior Wimbledon tournament, defeating World No. 1 Taylor Fritz en route to beating Mikael Ymer in the final[2][4] and reached the finals of the Boys' Doubles event (with Akira Santillan) at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships.[5]
Professional career
Early years
Opelka made his ATP debut at the 2016 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship, where he lost in the first round to fifth seed Sam Querrey. In August, Opelka won his first three career ATP matches at the BB&T Atlanta Open to reach the semi-finals at just his 3rd career ATP event. This included a victory over 203 cm player No. 27 Kevin Anderson in which he saved two match points on Anderson's serve. He lost in the semi-finals to top seed John Isner. He continued his momentum with first round wins at the Los Cabos Open and the Cincinnati Masters where he defeated Sergiy Stakhovsky and Jérémy Chardy respectively to move into the Top 300 of the ATP rankings. After struggling with a foot injury towards the end of the summer, Opelka returned to the USTA Pro Circuit for the indoor season and won his first ATP Challenger title in Charlottesville to finish the year just outside the Top 200.
In 2017, Opelka got off to a good start to the season by qualifying for the Australian Open. He played No. 11 seed David Goffin in the first round and pushed him to five sets before taking the loss. At the 2017 Memphis Open, he recorded his only ATP Tour level win of the year over fellow Next Gen American Jared Donaldson.
2018: Breakthrough
2018 proved to be a breakthrough year for Opelka. He won three ATP Challenger titles in the year, becoming first American to achieve the feat since Bradley Klahn in 2014.[6] He won his first title of the season at the Bordeaux Challenger in May.[7] In November he won back to back titles at the Knoxville Challenger[8] and the JSM Challenger.[6] He also finished as a runner-up at Cary Challenger and Oracle Challenger.[9]
On the ATP world Tour, he reached the quarterfinals at the Delray Beach Open, picking up his first top 10 win of his burgeoning career, defeating world No. 8 Jack Sock in the second round over three sets.
His solid performance at the ATP Challenger Tour earned him first career Top 100 year end finish in singles, ending the season at 99.
2019: More Progress, First ATP Title
At the Australian Open, Opelka created a huge upset when he defeated compatriot John Isner in the first round. This was the second top 10 win of his career.[10] In February, Opelka again knocked off John Isner on the way to his first ATP title, the New York Open. At Wimbledon, in July, he achieved his best Grand Slam result to date, making it to the tournament's third round and knocking out Stan Wawrinka in the process. Over the summer and fall, he reached the semifinals of tournaments in Atlanta, Tokyo, and Basel solidifying his standing amongst the best tennis players in the world. In November, he participated in the Davis Cup Finals for the United States, ultimately losing both his rubbers. He finished the season ranked 36th in the world.
2020: Second ATP Title
In February, Opelka lifted his second career trophy, at the Delray Beach Open. After an extended break due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, play resumed and Opelka reached his first ATP Tour Masters level quarterfinal at the Cincinnati Masters usually held in Cincinnati, but held in New York City for safety reasons. He notched his fifth career top 10 win, while there, knocking off Matteo Berrettini.
ATP career finals
Singles: 2 (2 titles)
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Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Win | 1–0 | Feb 2019 | New York Open, United States | 250 Series | Hard (i) | Brayden Schnur | 6–1, 6–7(7–9), 7–6(9–7) |
Win | 2–0 | Feb 2020 | Delray Beach Open, USA | 250 Series | Hard | Yoshihito Nishioka | 7–5, 6–7(4–7), 6–2 |
Doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)
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Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
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Loss | 0–1 | Oct 2019 | Swiss Indoors, Switzerland | 500 Series | Hard (i) | Taylor Fritz | Jean-Julien Rojer Horia Tecău |
5–7, 3–6 |
Loss | 0–2 | Feb 2020 | New York Open, United States | 250 Series | Hard (i) | Steve Johnson | Dominic Inglot Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi |
6–7(5–7), 6–7(6–8) |
Tour finals
Singles: 4–2 (4 titles, 2 runner-up)
Legend |
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Grand Slam (0) |
ATP Masters Series (0) |
ATP Tour (0) |
ATP Challenger Tour (4–2) |
Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Win | 1–0 | Nov 2016 | Charlottesville, US | Challenger | Hard (i) | Ruben Bemelmans | 6–4, 2–6, 7–6(7–5) |
Win | 2–0 | May 2018 | Bordeaux, France | Challenger | Clay | Grégoire Barrère | 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 7–5 |
Loss | 2–1 | Sep 2018 | Chicago, US | Challenger | Hard | Denis Istomin | 2–6, 4–6 |
Loss | 2–2 | Sep 2018 | Cary, US | Challenger | Hard | James Duckworth | 6–7(4–7), 3–6 |
Win | 3–2 | Nov 2018 | Knoxville Challenger, US | Challenger | Hard (i) | Bjorn Fratangelo | 7–5, 4–6, 7–6(7–2) |
Win | 4–2 | Nov 2018 | Champaign Challenger, US | Challenger | Hard (i) | Ryan Shane | 7–6(8–6), 6–3 |
Junior Grand Slam finals
Boys' Singles: 1 (1–0)
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Winner | 2015 | Wimbledon | Grass | Mikael Ymer | 7–6(7–5), 6–4 |
Boys' Doubles: 1 (0–1)
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
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Runner-up | 2015 | Wimbledon | Grass | Akira Santillan | Sumit Nagal Lý Hoàng Nam |
6–7(4–7), 4–6 |
Performance timelines
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | P | Z# | PO | G | F-S | SF-B | NMS | NH |
Singles
Current through the 2021 Great Ocean Road Open.
Tournament | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | SR | W–L |
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Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||
Australian Open | A | A | 1R | Q1 | 2R | 1R | 0 / 3 | 1–3 | |
French Open | A | A | Q3 | Q2 | 1R | 1R | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | |
Wimbledon | A | A | Q1 | Q2 | 3R | NH | 0 / 1 | 2–1 | |
US Open | Q2 | Q2 | Q2 | Q1 | 2R | 1R | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–4 | 0–3 | 0 / 8 | 4–8 | |
ATP Tour Masters 1000 | |||||||||
Indian Wells Masters | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | NH | 0 / 3 | 0–3 | |
Miami Open | A | A | Q2 | Q1 | 3R | NH | 0 / 1 | 2–1 | |
Monte-Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | A | NH | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
Madrid Open | A | A | A | A | 2R | NH | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | |
Italian Open | A | A | A | A | Q2 | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
Canadian Open | A | A | 1R | A | A | NH | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | |
Cincinnati Masters | A | 2R | Q1 | A | 2R | QF | 0 / 3 | 5–3 | |
Shanghai Masters | A | A | A | A | 2R | NH | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | |
Paris Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 5–5 | 3–1 | 0 / 10 | 9–10 | |
National Representation | |||||||||
Davis Cup | A | A | A | A | RR | P | 0 / 1 | 1–2 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0 / 1 | 1–2 | |
Career statistics | |||||||||
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | Career | ||
Tournaments | 0 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 22 | 8 | 1 | 46 | |
Titles / Finals | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 1 / 1 | 1 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 2 / 2 | |
Overall Win–Loss | 0–0 | 5–5 | 1–8 | 2–2 | 27–23 | 12–7 | 1–1 | 48–46 | |
Win % | – | 50% | 11% | 50% | 54% | 63% | 50% | 51% | |
Year-end Ranking | 981 | 204 | 229 | 99 | 36 | 39 |
Record against top 10 players
Opelka's match record against players who have been ranked in the top 10. Only ATP Tour main draw and Davis Cup matches are considered.
- John Isner 3–1
- Diego Schwartzman 2–1
- Kevin Anderson 1–0
- Matteo Berrettini 1–0
- Pablo Carreño Busta 1–0
- Ernests Gulbis 1–0
- Gilles Simon 1–0
- Stan Wawrinka 1–0
- Roberto Bautista Agut 1–1
- Milos Raonic 1–1
- Jack Sock 1–1
- Fabio Fognini 1–2
- David Goffin 1–2
- Daniil Medvedev 1-2
- Juan Martín del Potro 0–1
- Tommy Haas 0–1
- Gaël Monfils 0–1
- Dominic Thiem 0–1
- Stefanos Tsitsipas 0–1
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 0–1
- * As of 17 October 2020.
Top 10 wins
- Opelka has a 6–6 (50.0%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.
Season | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Total |
Wins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
# | Player | Rank | Event | Surface | Rd | Score | RO Rank |
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2018 | |||||||
1. | Jack Sock | 8 | Delray Beach, United States | Hard | 2R | 4–6, 7–5, 6–3 | 228 |
2019 | |||||||
2. | John Isner | 10 | Australian Open, Australia | Hard | 1R | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(8–6), 6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–5) | 97 |
3. | John Isner | 9 | New York Open, United States | Hard (i) | SF | 6–7(8–10), 7–6(16–14), 7–6(7–4) | 89 |
4. | Roberto Bautista Agut | 10 | Swiss Indoors, Switzerland | Hard (i) | QF | 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 | 37 |
2020 | |||||||
5. | Matteo Berrettini | 8 | Cincinnati, United States | Hard | 3R | 6–3, 7–6(7–4) | 39 |
6. | Daniil Medvedev | 6 | St. Petersburg, Russia | Hard (i) | 2R | 2–6, 7–5, 6–4 | 36 |
References
- "Reilly Opelka may be the next big thing (literally) in US men's tennis". Boston Globe. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- Boyle, Chris (July 10, 2015). "Palm Coast's Reilly Opelka defeats world's No. 1 junior, reaches Wimbledon final". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- "og Forget a tennis rivalry, these two rising stars are soon to be wedded". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- Camber, Simon (July 12, 2015). "Reilly Opelka's big triumph hints at better days for American tennis". The Guardian. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- "Sumit Nagal Wins Junior Boys' Doubles Wimbledon Title". NDTV Sports. July 12, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- "Opelka With Back-To-Back Titles Win In Champaign". Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- "AMERICAN REILLY OPELKA STANDS TALL GOING INTO THE 2019 SEASON". tennis.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- "USTA Pro Circuit Wrap-Up: Florida's Opelka Wins Knoxville, Mejia in Niceville". Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- "THE NEXT WAVE OF AMERICAN MEN STILL WORKING ON BREAKTHROUGHS". tennis.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- Streeter, Kurt (14 January 2019). "Against John Isner, Reilly Opelka Stands Taller". Retrieved 16 January 2019.