_03_(cropped).jpg) Opelka in 2024 | |
| Country (sports) |  United States |
|---|---|
| Residence | Delray Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Born | (1997-08-28)August 28, 1997 (age 28) St. Joseph, Michigan, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 11 in (211 cm) |
| Turned pro | 2015 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Coach | Jay Berger Denis Kudla (2025-)[1] |
| Prize money | US $ 5,153,322[2] |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 121–114 |
| Career titles | 4 |
| Highest ranking | No. 17 (February 28, 2022)[3] |
| Current ranking | No. 70 (June 30, 2025) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2022) |
| French Open | 3R (2021) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2019) |
| US Open | 4R (2021) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 21–24 |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Highest ranking | No. 89 (August 2, 2021) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| French Open | 1R (2019) |
| US Open | 2R (2017) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | QF (2024) |
| Last updated on: June 30, 2025. | |
Reilly Opelka (born August 28, 1997) is an American professionaltennis player. At 6 feet 11 inches (2.11 m), he is tied (withIvo Karlović) for the tallest-everATP-ranked player, and can produce serves that measure over 140 miles per hour (225 km/h).[4] He has beenranked as high as world No. 17 in singles by the ATP, which he achieved on February 28, 2022, and in doubles as world No. 89 on August 2, 2021. He has won four ATP singles titles and one doubles title. He won the juniorWimbledon championship in 2015.
Opelka was born inSt. Joseph, Michigan and moved toPalm Coast, Florida at age 4. He did not start playing tennis regularly until he began training throughUSTA inBoca Raton at 12 years old.[5] He creditsTom Gullikson, whom his father knew from playing golf, for much of his early development as a tennis player.[5][6] Opelka is close friends withTaylor Fritz and was the best man at Fritz's wedding.[7] His uncle is radio talk show hostMike Opelka. Opelka is an avid supporter of Chicago sports teams, namely theChicago Bulls (NBA), theChicago Bears (NFL) and theChicago Blackhawks (NHL), as well as theSerie A teamLazio.
Opelka won the2015 Junior Wimbledon tournament, defeating Junior world No. 1Taylor Fritz en route to beatingMikael Ymer in the final[6][8] and reached the finals of theBoys' Doubles event (withAkira Santillan) at the2015 Wimbledon Championships.[9]
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Opelka made his ATP debut at the2016 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, where he lost in the first round to fifth seedSam Querrey. In August, Opelka won his first three career ATP matches at theAtlanta Open to reach the semifinals at just his third career ATP event. This included a victory over 203 cm player No. 27Kevin Anderson in which he saved two match points on Anderson's serve. He lost in the semi-finals to top seedJohn Isner. He continued his momentum with first round wins at theLos Cabos Open and theCincinnati Masters where he defeatedSergiy Stakhovsky andJérémy 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 firstATP Challenger title inCharlottesville to finish the year just outside the top 200.
In 2017, Opelka got off to a good start to the season by qualifying for theAustralian Open. He played No. 11 seedDavid Goffin in the first round and pushed him to five sets before taking the loss. At theMemphis Open, he recorded his onlyATP Tour level win of the year over fellow Next Gen AmericanJared Donaldson.
2018 proved to be a breakthrough year for Opelka. He won three ATP Challenger titles in the season, the first American to do so sinceBradley Klahn in 2014.[10] He won his first title of the season at theBordeaux Challenger in May.[11] In November, he won back to back titles at theKnoxville Challenger[12] and theJSM Challenger.[10] He also finished as a runner-up atCary Challenger andOracle Challenger.[13]
On the ATP World Tour, he reached the quarterfinals at theDelray Beach Open, picking up his first top 10 win of his burgeoning career, defeating world No. 8,Jack Sock, in the second round.
His solid performance on theATP Challenger Tour earned him his first top-100 year-end finish in singles, ending the season at world No. 99.
At theAustralian Open, Opelka upset compatriot and ninth seedJohn Isner in the first round. This was the second top 10 win of his career.[14] In February, Opelka again defeated Isner, saving six match points, en route to his first ATP title at theNew York Open. AtWimbledon in July, he achieved his best Grand Slam result to date, reaching the tournament's third round and defeatingStan Wawrinka in the process. Over the summer and fall, he reached the semifinals of tournaments inAtlanta,Tokyo, andBasel. In November, he participated in theDavis Cup Finals for theUnited States, ultimately losing both his rubbers. He finished the season ranked 36th in the world.
In February, Opelka lifted his second career trophy at theDelray Beach Open after saving a match point in the semifinals againstMilos Raonic. After an extended break due to the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic, play resumed and Opelka reached his firstATP Tour Masters level quarterfinal at theCincinnati Masters. En route he earned his fifth career top 10 win, defeatingMatteo Berrettini.[15]
Opelka chose not to defend hisDelray Beach title. Instead, he began the season at theGreat Ocean Road Open as the sixth seed, but lost toBotic van de Zandschulp in the second round. At theAustralian Open, he beatLu Yen-hsun before losing to 27th seedTaylor Fritz, despite holding match points in the fourth set.
InRome, Opelka beatRichard Gasquet,Lorenzo Musetti,Aslan Karatsev andFederico Delbonis to reach his first Masters semifinal, where he lost toRafael Nadal.[16]
Seeded 32nd at theFrench Open, Opelka beat clay-court specialistsAndrej Martin andJaume Munar to reach the third round, his best showing at this Grand Slam event, where he lost toDaniil Medvedev.[17]
PartneringJannik Sinner, he won his first doubles title at theAtlanta Open defeatingSteve Johnson andJordan Thompson.[18] As a result, he entered the top 100 in doubles at No. 89 on August 2, 2021. At the same tournament in singles he fell in the quarterfinals toTaylor Fritz.[19]
At theCanada Masters in Toronto, he reached his second Masters 1000 semifinal by defeatingNick Kyrgios,[20] 14th seedGrigor Dimitrov,Lloyd Harris and 10th seedRoberto Bautista Agut.[21] He then upset 3rd seed and world No. 3,Stefanos Tsitsipas, to reach his firstATP Masters 1000 final. It was also his first win over a top 5 player.[22] Opelka would lose to 1st seed and world No. 2Daniil Medvedev in the final.[23] With this successful run, he entered the top 25 in the ATP singles rankings for the first time at world No. 23 on August 16, 2021.[24]
At theUS Open, Opelka reached the fourth round of a Major for the first time in his career. There, he lost toLloyd Harris in four sets.[25] From this run, he cracked the top 20 in the ATP singles rankings for the first time at world No. 19 on September 13, 2021.[26]
At the2022 Australian Open, Opelka reached the third round, where he lost toDenis Shapovalov.[27] At the inaugural edition of theDallas Open, Opelka won his third singles title after defeatingJenson Brooksby.[28] In the semifinals, he defeated fellow AmericanJohn Isner 7–6(9–7), 7–6(24–22). The 46-point tiebreak in the second set was the longest-ever at the ATP Tour level.[29] At the2022 Delray Beach Open, Opelka reached his second final in as many weeks, losing toCameron Norrie.[30] As a result, he reached a new career-high ranking of world No. 18 on February 21, 2022, and world No. 17 a week later.
At theIndian Wells Open he reached the fourth round for the first time in his career at this Masters where he lost to fourth seedRafael Nadal.[31] At the2022 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, Opelka won his second title of the year and fourth of his career, defeating compatriotJohn Isner in what was the tallest ATP Tour final in theOpen Era.[32] At theMadrid Open Opelka lost toSebastian Korda. TheItalian Open saw a defeat toStan Wawrinka, and at the2022 French Open toFilip Krajinović, with all losses being in the first round.
At the end of October 2023, Opelka returned to the ATP Challenger Tour at the2023 Charlottesville Men's Pro Challenger after close to a year and a half of hiatus primarily due to a wrist injury,[33] defeatingTennys Sandgren in straight sets in the first round. However, he retired in the second round.
After another 8 months hiatus, he returned in mid July 2024 to theATP Tour with a wildcard main draw entry into the2024 Hall of Fame Open and defeatedConstant Lestienne in three sets in the opening round to secure his first victory at that level for two years.[34] Opelka continued his comeback with a victory over top seedAdrian Mannarino in round two.[35] In the quarterfinals he defeatedMackenzie McDonald in three sets to become the lowest ranked player in history to make an ATP level semifinal[36][37] where his run came to an end againstAlex Michelsen.[38] As a result he moved more than 750 positions up into the top 430 on July 22, 2024.Ranked No. 371, he received main draw wildcards for theWashington Open where he reached the second round, and for theCincinnati Open.
He reached his first final since Houston in 2022 at the2025 Brisbane International with an upset over top seedNovak Djokovic in the quarterfinals (his eighth top-10 win),[39][40]and then overGiovanni Mpetshi Perricard, recording his 100th career win and returning to the top 200 in the rankings to world No. 171.[41][42] He was the second lowest-ranked player to defeat Djokovic afterFilip Krajinovic.[43] He was forced to retire in the final againstJiří Lehečka, due to back issues.[44]
Despite these injury concerns, he made a victorious start at the2025 Australian Open, defeating BelgianGauthier Onclin.[1] He lost toTomáš Macháč in five sets in the second round.[45]
At the2025 Libéma Open Opelka reached the semifinals as a lucky loser, defeating top seedDaniil Medvedev, after three consecutive double faults from the Russian in the last three service points of the deciding tiebreak. He was the second lucky loser to advance to the 's-Hertogenbosch semifinals afterRinky Hijikata in 2023.[46]
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
Current through the2025 Swiss Indoors.
| Tournament | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | 1R | Q1 | 2R | 1R | 2R | 3R | A | A | 2R | 0 / 6 | 5–6 | 45% |
| French Open | A | A | Q3 | Q2 | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | A | A | 2R | 0 / 5 | 3–5 | 38% |
| Wimbledon | A | A | Q1 | Q2 | 3R | NH | 1R | 2R | A | A | 2R | 0 / 4 | 4–4 | 50% |
| US Open | Q2 | Q2 | Q2 | Q1 | 2R | 1R | 4R | A | A | 1R | 1R | 0 / 5 | 4–5 | 44% |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–4 | 0–3 | 6–4 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–4 | 0 / 20 | 16–20 | 44% |
| ATP 1000 tournaments | ||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells Open | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | NH | 3R | 4R | A | A | 1R | 0 / 6 | 3–6 | 33% |
| Miami Open | A | A | Q2 | Q1 | 3R | NH | 2R | 2R | A | A | 3R | 0 / 4 | 4–4 | 50% |
| Monte-Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | A | NH | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Madrid Open | A | A | A | A | 2R | NH | 1R | 1R | A | A | 2R | 0 / 4 | 2–4 | 33% |
| Italian Open | A | A | A | A | Q2 | A | SF | 1R | A | A | 1R | 0 / 3 | 4–3 | 57% |
| Canadian Open | A | A | 1R | A | A | NH | F | A | A | A | 3R | 0 / 3 | 7–3 | 70% |
| Cincinnati Open | A | 2R | Q1 | A | 2R | QF | 2R | A | A | 1R | 3R | 0 / 6 | 8–6 | 57% |
| Shanghai Masters | A | A | A | A | 2R | NH | A | 1R | 1R | 0 / 3 | 1–3 | 25% | ||
| Paris Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% | |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 5–5 | 3–1 | 12–7 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 7–7 | 0 / 30 | 30–30 | 50% |
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||
| Tournaments | 0 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 22 | 9 | 21 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 21 | Career total: 112 | ||
| Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Career total: 4 | ||
| Finals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Career total: 7 | ||
| Overall win–loss | 0–0 | 5–5 | 1–8 | 2–2 | 27–23 | 12–8 | 21–23 | 21–15 | 0–0 | 7–8 | 25–22 | 4 / 112 | 121–114 | 51% |
| Win % | – | 50% | 11% | 50% | 54% | 60% | 48% | 58% | – | 47% | 53% | Career total: 51% | ||
| Year-end ranking | 981 | 204 | 229 | 99 | 36 | 39 | 26 | 38 | 1146 | 293 | $4,462,345 | |||
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2021 | Canadian Open | Hard |  Daniil Medvedev | 4–6, 3–6 |
|
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Feb 2019 | New York Open, United States | ATP 250 | Hard (i) |  Brayden Schnur | 6–1, 6–7(7–9), 7–6(9–7) |
| Win | 2–0 | Feb 2020 | Delray Beach Open, United States | ATP 250 | Hard |  Yoshihito Nishioka | 7–5, 6–7(4–7), 6–2 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Aug 2021 | Canadian Open, Canada | ATP 1000 | Hard | Daniil Medvedev | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 3–1 | Feb 2022 | Dallas Open, United States | ATP 250 | Hard (i) |  Jenson Brooksby | 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–3) |
| Loss | 3–2 | Feb 2022 | Delray Beach Open, United States | ATP 250 | Hard |  Cameron Norrie | 6–7(1–7), 6–7(4–7) |
| Win | 4–2 | Apr 2022 | U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, United States | ATP 250 | Clay | John Isner | 6–3, 7–6(9–7) |
| Loss | 4–3 | Jan 2025 | Brisbane International, Australia | ATP 250 | Hard |  Jiří Lehečka | 1–4 ret. |
|
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Oct 2019 | Swiss Indoors, Switzerland | ATP 500 | Hard (i) | Taylor Fritz |  Jean-Julien Rojer Horia Tecău | 5–7, 3–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Feb 2020 | New York Open, United States | ATP 250 | Hard (i) | Steve Johnson | Dominic Inglot Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi | 6–7(5–7), 6–7(6–8) |
| Loss | 0–3 | Jun 2021 | Queen's Club Championships, United Kingdom | ATP 500 | Grass |  John Peers |  Pierre-Hugues HerbertNicolas Mahut | 4–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 1–3 | Jul 2021 | Atlanta Open, United States | ATP 250 | Hard |  Jannik Sinner | Steve JohnsonJordan Thompson | 6–4, 6–7(6–8), [10–3] |
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Nov 2016 | Charlottesville Men's Pro Challenger, US | Challenger | Hard (i) |  Ruben Bemelmans | 6–4, 2–6, 7–6(7–5) |
| Win | 2–0 | May 2018 | BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux, France | Challenger | Clay | Grégoire Barrère | 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 7–5 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Sep 2018 | Oracle Challenger Series – Chicago, US | Challenger | Hard |  Denis Istomin | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 2–2 | Sep 2018 | Cary Challenger, 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–Urbana Challenger, US | Challenger | Hard (i) | Ryan Shane | 7–6(8–6), 6–3 |
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Sep 2014 | USA F24, Claremont | Futures | Hard | Deiton Baughman | Dennis NevoloJeff Dadamo | 2–5 ret. |
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 2015 | Wimbledon | Grass |  Mikael Ymer | 7–6(7–5), 6–4 |
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2015 | Wimbledon | Grass | Akira Santillan |  Sumit Nagal Lý Hoàng Nam | 6–7(4–7), 4–6 |
| Season | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| # | Player | Rank | Event | Surface | Rd | Score | ROR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | |||||||
| 1. | Jack Sock | 8 | Delray Beach Open, 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 Open, United States | Hard | 3R | 6–3, 7–6(7–4) | 39 |
| 6. | Daniil Medvedev | 6 | St. Petersburg Open, Russia | Hard (i) | 2R | 2–6, 7–5, 6–4 | 36 |
| 2021 | |||||||
| 7. |  Stefanos Tsitsipas | 3 | Canadian Open, Canada | Hard | SF | 6–7(2–7), 7–6(7–4), 6–4 | 32 |
| 2025 | |||||||
| 8. |  Novak Djokovic | 7 | Brisbane International, Australia | Hard | QF | 7–6(8–6), 6–3 | 293 |
| 9. | Alex de Minaur | 8 | Cincinnati Open, United States | Hard | 2R | 7–6(8–6), 6–4 | 73 |
