American tennis star Reilly Opelka is known for his outspoken and often controversial opinions, particularly regarding doubles tennis and his interactions with umpires and the media. For example, earlier this year, he reignited the debate over the relevance of doubles events by saying, “Doubles is for failed singles players.” Then, during the Dallas Open, he called for the chair umpire Greg Allensworth to be suspended by the ATP, after he received a code violation for confronting a spectator in the stands who Opelka claimed was deliberately coughing to interrupt his serve. He even called Allensworth, “worst ref on the ATP“. A similar incident happened at the Indian Wells as well!
In his first round match at the 2025 Indian Wells Open, Reilly Opelka was spotted engaging in a heated argument with the chair umpire, Nacho Forcadell, due to bad lights before abruptly calling for physio after the umpire refused to stop play. Seeing him calling the physio, the umpire informed the American star that it was not the right way to stop play. However, despite that, Opelka sat on his bench, and then the physio had to eventually enter the court to treat his wrist issue. Later on, although Opelka agreed to play when the lights were turned on, he received a warning for Unsportsmanlike Conduct.
The match ended at 7-5,6-4 in favor of Roman Safiulin! But now, almost four and a half months since that incident, Reilly Opelka has yet again shared some interesting details about that controversy. In his recent IG stories, he shared a screenshot which highlighted the exact words that he had said to his opponent at that time while complaining about the umpire – “Nacho is an idiot.” Opelka was seen dissing on ATP by sharing a caption on that post, which read, “The ‘i’ word can be expensive @atptour.”
Now, coming to the details about these controversies, a fan on Reddit explained that on February 6, in Dallas, Reilly Opelka had received a fine of $40k under the old rules, which still allowed more leeway for what could be seen as reasonable criticism. This was for his remarks towards Greg Allensworth. Then the fan went on to reveal that on February 10, the ATP tightened the rule so that even comments considered a “reasonable” attack on an umpire or official could be fined if they were seen as damaging to reputation.
Hence, at the Indian Wells, his remarks towards Forcadell ensured him a fine under the stricter, post-February 10 rule. In Dallas, the fine was just $40k, while at Indian Wells, it was $60k for Opelka. However, in a previous instance, while sharing his thoughts on his opponent’s (Holger Rune’s) actions in a similar incident, Opelka had claimed he was fined $80,000 at the Indian Wells.
Sep 2, 2021; Flushing, NY, USA;
Reilly Opelka of the United States serves against Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in a second round match on day four of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
His recent IG post, yet again, highlighted his annoyance with the whole incident. Recently, Reilly Opelka found yet another moment of dissatisfaction in his match against Argentina’s Francisco Comesana in the R32 of the Cincinnati Open.
Reilly Opelka seen complaining to the chair umpire about his opponent
Ranked 73rd in the world, Reilly Opelka got off to a stellar start to his season, beating the likes of Novak Djokovic and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on his way to the final at the Brisbane International. Following that event, he also reached the QF in Dallas, but then, after that, Opelka struggled a bit to deliver in the rest of the tournaments before the Libema Open. At that pre-Wimbledon grass court event, he reached the SF, but his title-winning dream was shattered at the hands of Belgium’s Zizou Bergs.
It has been a long time since we’ve seen this 6ft 11 inches tall lad with a title in his hand. His fans hoped for better results at the North American swing, but even here, Opelka failed. He had a disappointing end to his campaign at the Cincinnati Open with a 7-6(4),4-6,5-7 defeat against Argentina’s Francisco Comesana. But this match was full of entertainment!
We saw the play being halted midway as the Argentine looked a bit unwell during the second set. After losing the first set to Opelka, Comesana took control of the second set and secured a 4-3 (15-0) lead. But then, just when he was about to serve, he decided to stop play and walked gingerly towards his courtside, catching the umpire’s attention. Later on, we saw him having his blood pressure checked, and Comesana put ice bags on his neck to combat the scorching heat in Ohio.
After that 11-minute medical timeout, both players came back to action with Francisco Comesana securing the second set by 6-4. But shortly after the second set, the Argentine headed for a toilet break and to change his outfit. Seeing this, Reilly Opelka became a bit frustrated and was seen having a conversation with the chair umpire. The American said, “How many breaks will this guy get? The last time I had a break that long I got fined 150K.”
Despite showing a tough fight in the third set, Reilly Opelka failed to seal the match. Tough times for the American star. Can he come up with a better performance at the US Open this year?
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