Reilly Opelka took another opportunity to confess his distaste for doubles tennis, highlighting the lack of crowds for the men’s doubles final in Indian Wells on Saturday. Opelka noted that the stadium was relatively empty shortly after the singles semifinal between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, which was the last singles match of the day at Stadium 1.
Opelka has spoken out time and again against doubles, recently even stating his belief that the ATP tour should discontinue the format as fans have no interest in watching doubles tennis.
Sharing an image showing very few fans in the stands of the doubles final between Rohan Bopanna/Matthew Ebden and top seeds Neal Skupski/Wesley Koolhof, Opelka once again made his point.
“The stadium emptied out quickly after the Alcaraz/Sinner game,” Reilly Opelka wrote on Instagram.
The men’s doubles final turned out to be a historic occasion, as Bopanna became the oldest Masters 1000 champion in history at the age of 43, thanks to his and Ebden’s 6-3, 2- 6, 10-8 over Skupsi and Koolhof in the final. .
Earlier in the day, Daniil Medvedev defeated Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 7-6(4) in the first men’s singles semifinal and will face alcarazwho beat Sinner 7-6(4), 6-3 in the second semifinal, in Sunday’s final.
“Four walkovers in two rounds”: Reilly Opelka’s previous dig at doubles
Earlier in the tournament, Reilly Opelka stressed that Indian Wells saw four walkovers in the first two rounds of the doubles event alone as certain players sacrificed doubles matches to prioritize their singles campaigns, thus reiterating their initial call for doubles tennis to be ruled out. The American player also felt that the fact that many used examples of the best singles players playing doubles to present a good doubles image only proved his point.
“Journalists using top-ranked singles players as examples of people watching doubles further prove my point,” Opelka wrote.
Earlier, in response to a fan’s question about a big change he’d like to see on tour, Opelka He suggested that the ATP should “get rid of doubles” as he feels fans watch him only when the best singles players compete or when the now-retired Bryan brothers play.
“Get rid of the doubles, the only time people watch is when it’s singles players or the Bry brothers,” he wrote on Instagram.
No. 112 in the world Opelka he has not played on the tour since the 2022 Citi Open in Washington DC in early August due to injury.
