"He's 37 in the world, sit this one out" - Rennae Stubbs defends Reilly Opelka from fan heckling him about not playing enough tennis

Former tennis professional Rennae Stubbs recently took to Twitter to defend Reilly Opelka from a fan who heckled the American for "not playing much tennis."

Rennae Stubbs is a former Australian tennis player and has coached the likes of Samantha Stosur, Eugenie Bouchard, and most recently Serena Williams for a brief period, among others.

Opelka, 25, tweeted a series of posts targeting the tennis establishment, accusing them of "stealing" money from hardworking athletes. The American spoke about the disparity in prize money awarded at the Japan Open and expressed his amusement at finding out that the finalists of the tournament were paid less than they were in 2018.

In response, a user mocked the player for only talking a lot online and not playing himself.

"Don’t talk about tennis when you don’t play," he tweeted.

Stubbs took the matter into her own hands as she replied to the online comment by stating how Opelka has been recovering from hip surgery and despite "not playing much," the American is still No. 37 in the ATP rankings.

"Dude he just had hip surgery. Wtaf ! He’s 37 in the world. Sit this one out bro," Stubbs wrote in her tweet.

Reilly Opelka's 2022 season so far

Reilly Opelka at the Championships - Wimbledon 2022

Reilly Opelka has won two ATP singles titles so far this season. After kickstarting his season at the ATP Cup in Sydney, Opelka lost to Denis Shapovalov, 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the third round of the Australian Open. However, at the Dallas Open, the American played superbly to win the first title of the season, defeating compatriot Jenson Brooksby, 7-6(5), 7-6(3) in the final for his third career hardcourt title.

At the Delray Beach Open, the defending champion lost to Cameron Norrie 7-6(1), 7-6(4), in the final. At Indian Wells, the 25-year-old lost to 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal in the fourth round. The former World No. 1 beat Opelka, 7-6(3), 7-6(5) to reach the quarterfinals.

At the Houston Open, Opelka won the second title of the season. In the summit clash, the American beat compatriot John Isner 6-3, 7-6(7). At the Geneva Open, Reilly Opelka lost in the semifinals to World No. 3 Casper Ruud, 7-6(2), 7-5.

In his last tournament this season at the Citi Open, Opelka lost in the second round to eventual champion Nick Kyrgios, 7-6(1), 6-2.

Reilly Opella was forced to withdraw from the US Open due to a hip injury. The American has since gone under the knife due to his injury and is yet to announce a return to action.