Reilly Opelka drops 1-word reaction to shocking disparity in tennis players' revenue share compared to other sports

Reilly Opelka reacted to the shocking statistic about tennis players receiving an extremely low share of the revenue earned by the sport in comparison to other sports and leagues. England's top-flight soccer league shares the highest percentage of its revenue with players.

On February 4, an Instagram account (@underarmserve) shared a statistic ranking sports and leagues by the percentage of total revenue allocated to players through salaries, wages, and prize money. The English Premier League led with 61%, followed by the Bundesliga, NBA, NHL, and NFL.

In contrast, tennis players received just 17%, the lowest among all the sports listed. Upon seeing this, American tennis star Reilly Opelka posted a simple yet telling one-word response:

"Monopoly."

Reilly Opelka's comment (Image: Instagram @underarmserve)

With this, Opelka pointed out the unfair distribution, implying that the governing bodies in tennis have too much control over the revenue, leaving players with a minimal share.

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Before Reilly Opelka, Novak Djokovic & Nick Kyrgios also criticized the revenue share model in tennis

Novak Djokovic and Reilly Opelka at the 2025 Brisbane International - Source: Getty

Before Reilly Opelka recently criticized the revenue share model in tennis, Novak Djokovic had also highlighted the stark contrast between tennis and other major sports when it comes to revenue sharing.

The Serb pointed out that in American sports such as the NBA, NFL, and NHL, athletes receive around 50% of the total revenue. In comparison, tennis players receive a much smaller portion.

"The pie split between the governing bodies in major sports, all major American sports, like NFL, NBA, baseball, NHL, is 50% maybe more, some less, but around 50%," Djokovic said during a press conference in Brisbane. "Ours is way lower than that, it is true."

Djokovic, who has served in various player representation roles, including president of the ATP Players Council, reflected on his firsthand experience with the challenges in tennis governance. He claimed that there is often a conflict of interest between players and tournament organizers.

Nick Kyrgios had also criticized the ATP’s prize money structure and described the tour as "ridiculous" compared to other professional sports.

"The tour is ridiculous compared to any other sport," he said in Brisbane. "It’s absurd, really, the amount of travel we do, considering we don’t even get paid what we are supposed to get paid, as well, which is a joke."

Both Djokovic and Kyrgios have been vocal about the financial challenges in tennis, adding to the ongoing debate about the sport’s economic structure and the need for reform in prize money distribution.