"There are also singles players that people “don’t pay” to see" - Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs on Reilly Opelka's doubles tennis feud

Former tennis player Rennae Stubbs voiced her opinion in response to Reilly Opelka's claim that doubles players are overpaid.

Opelka has been criticizing doubles tennis players for a few days, calling them the "most overpaid athletes" and claiming that they don't sell tickets outside of the UK. The whole thing started when a Twitter user suggested that Reilly Opelka should participate in more doubles tournaments since he would be very successful on the tour and earn a significant sum of money as well.

One of his tweets on the subject stated that not even a single doubles player sells tickets, further emphasizing the point that they are overpaid.

“Agreed not all singles players sell tickets. But not a single doubles player sells tickets. Overpaid is overpaid, hard to argue with math,” wrote Reilly Opelka.

Rennae Stubbs responded to Reilly Opelka's tweet by saying that people do watch and enjoy doubles matches.

"Mate. There are also singles players that people “don’t pay” to see. But the public go into a tennis event to watch matches and there are actually doubles matches they watch too and very much enjoy. They get 20% or less of the purse. That’s what they deserve," wrote Rennae Stubbs on Twitter.

Rennae Stubbs is a renowned former doubles player who has won four doubles Grand Slams. Stubbs has won more doubles matches than any other Australian woman—60 between 1992 and the end of the 2010 WTA Tour—and has done so while teaming up with eleven different players.

"You have to be comfortable looking stupid out there sometimes" - Reilly Opelka on his mentality

Reilly Opelka in action at the 2022 French Open

Reilly Opelka recently opened up about his mentality in an ATP podcast interview. The 25-year-old described himself as "analytical". He added that you have to be okay with sometimes appearing stupid on the court.

"My mentality is, I would say analytical, for better words, that's just kinda how I have always been wired. Finding the right balance where do you caught for lying to be too analytical to where it becomes detrimental, so it's just a matter how am I gonna find the right balance to manage it better," Opelka said.

"I mean, it sounds funny, but you have to be comfortable looking stupid out there sometimes and at my size, playing what I play, if I get a ball that I like, I am gonna take a high-risk shot and go for something crazy. It leads to some misses that look silly out there, but that's just the nature of it. It's just what it is, it's just the reality," he added.

He was last seen in action at the Citi Open, where he was eliminated in the third round by eventual champion Nick Kyrgios, 7-6(1), 6-2. He concluded his 2022 season ranked No. 38 in the world with a 21-15 win-loss record.