"Don't have empathy for player testing positive for adderall" - Reilly Opelka slams Fernando Verdasco 

American tennis player Reilly Opelka expressed his annoyance with Fernando Verdasco following his recent doping issue. The Spaniard was given a two-month suspension after testing positive for ADHD medication, the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced on Wednesday.

Opelka took to social media to mock Verdasco and called his actions "legal doping."

"One of the biggest issues in tennis.. why are guys taking adderall for the first time in their life as adults? Legal doping," he tweeted.

The veteran Spanish player was tested at the ATP Challenger event in Brazil in February 2022. He admitted that he had been diagnosed with ADHD and that the drugs were taken legitimately as per medications prescribed by his physician. The International Tennis Integrity Agency stated that Verdasco had taken the drugs unintentionally and that he did not intend to gain an unfair advantage. Subsequently, the agency reduced the ban from two years to two months.

However, Opelka conveyed displeasure at the decision as he believes that Verdasco does not deserve any empathy for his actions and that what he took was nothing less than "performance enhancing drugs."

"Sorry but I dont have empathy for any tennis player testing positive for adderall, as in my mind its a PED," Opelka wrote in another tweet.

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"Tennis is stuck in the 1950s" - Reilly Opelka criticizes ITF's decision to fine Bob Bryan and Mardy Fish

Reilly Opelka at the 2022 Delray Beach Open.

Reilly Opelka expressed displeasure with the International Tennis Federation's decision to suspend Mardy Fish and Bob Bryan for promoting sports betting company DraftKings on social media during the 2022 US Open.

Opelka took to social media to state his opinion on the issue, saying that the decision by ITF was regressive to the current scenario.

"Tennis is stuck in the 1950s," the American wrote in his tweet.

Journalist Ben Rothenberg similarly called out the ITF for their double standards. He noted that several Tennis Channel employees are promoting DraftKings on air and questioned whether those people will also be punished for their actions.

"So many Tennis Channel employees have been roped into doing cringeworthy Draft Kings promo work on air. Many of them also have other roles in the sport. Will they also be accountable for that?," Rothenberg wrote in his tweet.

Fish and Bryan, who are part of the US coaching team, have been issued with four-month suspensions and have also been fined $10,000 by the ITF.