"I bet $1000 Reilly Opelka thinks the same of women's tennis and equal pay" - Tennis fans blast American for asking ATP to ditch doubles

Reilly Opelka's call for doubles to be removed from the ATP tour hasn't gone down well with tennis fans, who have asked him to concentrate on his game.Known for speaking his mind, Opelka has called for the removal of doubles matches in the past too. His reasoning is that fans watch doubles only when the top singles players are playing.Speaking recently on The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast, Opelka reiterated that doubles tennis was not bringing in the money that was expected and thus could be done away with.“I’m just speaking what I feel is the truth,&quot; Reilly Opelka said. &quot;It's hard to argue with facts &amp; math. If they present a point to me at ATP 250 &amp; 500 level showing they bring in the money that costs to have them there, let alone prize money, perfect. But the numbers point to me.”Several fans promptly asked Opelka to keep his views to himself, while also countering with a number of arguments.&quot;You could use his logic to say same for players ranked under 25 - people don’t spend cash to see &lt;enter name&gt;. &lt;enter name&gt; doesn’t bring money in that equals his prize money so why does he get to earn it? Let’s just have the top 16 play and no one else shall we Reilly?&quot; a fan tweeted.Guillaume Schuyler (Padam)@amithedrama_@TheTennisLetter You could use his logic to say same for players ranked under 25 - people don’t spend cash to see &lt;enter name&gt;&lt;enter name&gt; doesn’t bring money in that equals his prize money so why does he get to earn it? Let’s just have the top 16 play and no one else shall we Reilly? 🤡251@TheTennisLetter You could use his logic to say same for players ranked under 25 - people don’t spend cash to see &lt;enter name&gt;&lt;enter name&gt; doesn’t bring money in that equals his prize money so why does he get to earn it? Let’s just have the top 16 play and no one else shall we Reilly? 🤡&quot;Then they should remove him from the tour too because he surely doesn’t bring in any ticket money. No one wants to watch a guy who can’t survive a rally once he has to hit the ball more than twice,&quot; another user wrote.MACKY@MackyPicks@TheTennisLetter Then they should remove him from the tour too because he surely doesn’t bring in any ticket money. No one wants to watch a guy who can’t survive a rally once he has to hit the ball more than twice513@TheTennisLetter Then they should remove him from the tour too because he surely doesn’t bring in any ticket money. No one wants to watch a guy who can’t survive a rally once he has to hit the ball more than twice&quot;It boggles my mind that his conclusion isn’t that the sport needs to do a better job of promoting and supporting doubles, but rather that we should remove a fundamental part of the sport and force hundreds of professional doubles players out of a job,&quot; another tweet read.Robespierre@brookeabeyerIt boggles my mind that his conclusion isn’t that the sport needs to do a better job of promoting and supporting doubles, but rather that we should remove a fundamental part of the sport and force hundreds of professional doubles players out of a job twitter.com/thetennislette…The Tennis Letter@TheTennisLetterOpelka backs up his stance that ATP should get rid of doubles: “It's hard to argue with facts &amp; math. If they present a point to me at ATP 250 &amp; 500 level showing they bring in the money that costs to have them there, let alone prize money, perfect. But the numbers point to me”682Opelka backs up his stance that ATP should get rid of doubles: “It's hard to argue with facts &amp; math. If they present a point to me at ATP 250 &amp; 500 level showing they bring in the money that costs to have them there, let alone prize money, perfect. But the numbers point to me” https://t.co/Wbk8NPHzdUIt boggles my mind that his conclusion isn’t that the sport needs to do a better job of promoting and supporting doubles, but rather that we should remove a fundamental part of the sport and force hundreds of professional doubles players out of a job twitter.com/thetennislette…Here are some more fan reactions:Isabel@TheTennisSlutI bet $1000 that Opelika thinks the same of women's tennis and equal pay twitter.com/TheTennisLette…The Tennis Letter@TheTennisLetterOpelka backs up his stance that ATP should get rid of doubles: “It's hard to argue with facts &amp; math. If they present a point to me at ATP 250 &amp; 500 level showing they bring in the money that costs to have them there, let alone prize money, perfect. But the numbers point to me”26Opelka backs up his stance that ATP should get rid of doubles: “It's hard to argue with facts &amp; math. If they present a point to me at ATP 250 &amp; 500 level showing they bring in the money that costs to have them there, let alone prize money, perfect. But the numbers point to me” https://t.co/Wbk8NPHzdUI bet $1000 that Opelika thinks the same of women's tennis and equal pay twitter.com/TheTennisLette…:: 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒍 :: Neon Brother Fan Account@FreakySoul8@TheTennisLetter Yes Reilly and so we could get rid of women's tennis, wheelchair tennis, anything but male singles... congrats for the great idea.Does he still play tennis tho?73@TheTennisLetter Yes Reilly and so we could get rid of women's tennis, wheelchair tennis, anything but male singles... congrats for the great idea.Does he still play tennis tho?annie🇨🇦q@annquevillon221@TheTennisLetter I think it’s poor form dismiss professional athletes WHO PLAY THE SAME SPORT AS YOU DO.Not everything needs to be monetised to justify its raison d’être.702@TheTennisLetter I think it’s poor form dismiss professional athletes WHO PLAY THE SAME SPORT AS YOU DO.Not everything needs to be monetised to justify its raison d’être.Jodie Keen 1️⃣4️⃣🇫🇷🏆 2️⃣2️⃣ 🏆💪🏼🧡@KeenJodie@TheTennisLetter Like anyone care what Opelka thinks 116@TheTennisLetter Like anyone care what Opelka thinks 😂Benjam@zzbenjam@TheTennisLetter Just another terrible take from Opelka28@TheTennisLetter Just another terrible take from OpelkaJared J.@jjoconno@TheTennisLetter Homie knows he can’t win any big major and wants to color commentate. Ironically he could probably be a grand slam contender in doubles34@TheTennisLetter Homie knows he can’t win any big major and wants to color commentate. Ironically he could probably be a grand slam contender in doublescolumnistmike@columnistmike@TheTennisLetter If it's about the money, then we should really replace tennis tournaments with football or soccer or basketball. Thanks for the idea, Mr. Suddenly Unemployed!9@TheTennisLetter If it's about the money, then we should really replace tennis tournaments with football or soccer or basketball. Thanks for the idea, Mr. Suddenly Unemployed!ZAN@ZAN_93@TheTennisLetter We should start by getting rid of servebots like Opelka. No one watches him.11@TheTennisLetter We should start by getting rid of servebots like Opelka. No one watches him.Reilly Opelka has been away from the tour for 10 monthsReilly OpelkaReilly Opelka last played a tour-level match at the Citi Open in August 2022, against Nick Kyrgios. A hip injury has kept the American away from action since. The 2023 French Open will be the third consecutive Grand Slam tournament that Opelka will miss. However, the 25-year-old has stayed in touch with tennis in the form of a commentator.The six-foot, 11-inch giant is known for his huge serve and has won four ATP 250 titles in his career so far. Turning pro in 2015, Opelka reached a career-high ranking of No. 17 in February 2022.In the semifinal of the 2022 Dallas Open, Opelka won the longest tiebreaker in ATP history when he beat John Isner 7-6(9-7), 7-6(24-22).

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