"I wish I had played basketball, the league minimum is $5 million a year and you get to stay in the United States and fly private, large planes; it’s the life" - Reilly Opelka
At 6'11", Reilly Opelka would have made one hell of a basketball player if he had chosen to play the sport instead of tennis. The American himself wishes he had done so, especially since he thinks he would have earned a lot more money that way.
Speaking in a recent interview with Kembeo, the World No. 17 revealed that he was envious of NBA athletes because they got to stay in the United States all year and fly from one place to another in their private planes. It was the only way to live life, in Opelka's eyes at least.
"I wish I had played basketball,” Reilly Opelka said. “One hundred percent. Those guys have a liveliness. The league minimum is $5 million a year. And you get to stay in the United States and fly private, large planes. It’s the life."
The 24-year-old went on to expand on his tennis career, saying that, as good as his serve was, it was not the only attribute he fine-tuned in training. Although the American admitted that he spends half an hour every day going over his serve, he made it clear that he spent more time improving on other parts of his game.
"I practice my serve every day, but I’m [not doing just that],” Opelka said. “When I’m at home plate, I spend a lot more time on other things. I spend 20 to 30 minutes a day serving as an absolute soap.”
Really hoping @Wimbledon donates 100% of fines accumulated throughout the 2022 championships to Ukraine. twitter.com/christophclare…
Reilly Opelka expanded on the foot injury he sustained back in 2015 as well, recalling how his increased body weight led to his legs suffering from the extra burden they had to haul around.
"The foot issue started in 2015,” he said. “I was 6ft 11in already, but then I put on a bunch of slant," Reilly Opelka said. "It was precisely natural, maturing. I finished 2016 30lb heavy and I think that was where the foot problem started. With more burden, my body had to adjust."
"I’ve always been a big advocate of giving wildcards to the younger guys" - Reilly Opelka
During the interview, Reilly Opelka also talked about the difficulties he faces in his day-to-day life due to his above-average height, saying that he finds it very hard to find comfortable hotel beds and airplane seats.
He further revealed that traveling around Europe was particularly cumbersome for him, since there are not that many business-class seats available on short-duration flights.
"Finding comfortable beds in hotels and seats on airplanes is besides a challenge. The biggest issue is flying. Obviously I have to fly Business class, but once I’m in Europe or somewhere where I have a three-hour flight where they don’t have full-on Business course, that’s where I struggle," Reilly Opelka said. "I’ve gotten off planes before with my back completely locked."
Speaking about his stint on the ATP Challenger circuit in his early days, the World No. 17 remarked that they were not nice in the slightest, and that one had to play in the middle of nowhere under less than acceptable conditions. Although it helped him immensely on his journey into ATP stardom, the American minced no words about how little he enjoyed his time dueling it out in the lower rungs.
"They’re not the nicest tournaments. They’re an absolute swot. You play in the middle of nowhere. I played a Challenger last year in Panama where after the beginning circle they ran out of balls and switched to a different ball. There was no footlocker room," Opelka said. "There were no showers at the courts and there was no air-conditioning. It was the most battered woo you could find. I decidedly paid my dues on the Challenger enlistment survival year."
Reilly Opelka: "The grass is no longer for the servers, they have slowed it down too much"
🌱 Reilly Opelka: "The grass is no longer for the servers, they have slowed it down too much"
Interesting: I don't recall players mentioning the speed last year in 2021; in fact big serving was central to the men's results twitter.com/PuntoDBreak/st…
The 24-year-old also shared his thoughts on how tournaments award wildcards to players, commenting that he did not agree with the current practice. Instead, Opelka wanted wildcards to go to younger players for the most part, since it would help them out in advancing their careers.
"I’ve always been a big advocate of giving wildcards to the younger guys. I've been ranked higher than guys and seven years younger than guys who have got cards over me," Reilly Opelka said. "This has nothing to do with me. I think the general concept is wholly wrong. I think moving forward you should give the youth their shot."