Nick Kyrgios joins Reilly Opelka and gangs up on tennis journalist
Reilly Opelka was involved in a war of words with tennis journalist David Law on social media on Tuesday night, thanks to his controversial opinion on voting. Amidst plenty of tennis players urging their fans to go out and vote in the American midterm elections, Opelka went in the opposite direction, criticizing the mix of tennis and politics.
Ironically mocking celebrities who were sharing messages to their followers telling them to vote, the American opined that politics and ideology should not come into tennis. Further adding that he did not have an ideology, the 25-year-old declared that forcing others to subscribe to one's morality was not right.
Tennis fans on Twitter were quick to hit back, calling Opelka "an embarrassment" for his non-political stance and rebuking him for his unnecessarily edgy takes. Among them was also tennis journalist David Law, who mocked the American in the same style, tweeting:
"Imagine tweeting 'Imagine telling people to go vote'," Law tweeted.
’@ReillyOpelka Imagine tweeting ‘Imagine telling people to go vote 😂’
Opelka responded with an ad hominem attack, pointing out that Law spends too much time on Twitter, implying in the process that somehow his arguments meant less as a result.
"Imagine tweeting 86k times. Dude already living in the metaverse," Opelka tweeted.
Imagine tweeting 86k times. Dude already living in the metaverse😂 twitter.com/DavidLawTennis…
This is where Reilly Opelka got help from an unlikely ally, Australia's Nick Kyrgios. Kyrgios, who had not reacted to anything regarding the situation until then, climbed on board after seeing the comments against Law, replying with a series of laugh-out-loud emojis to show his amusement and approval.
@ReillyOpelka 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Reilly Opelka's 2022 season ended with loss to Nick Kyrgios at Citi Open in Washington
Reilly Opelka last played a match in 2022 at the Citi Open in Washington DC, losing to Nick Kyrgios in the second round. After beating Denis Kudla in his opener, the American lost out to Kyrgios in straight sets.
Opelka did not play in any event after that, pulling out of the Cincinnati Open, the Canadian Open and the US Open for undisclosed reasons. Kyrgios, meanwhile, went on to win the Citi Open and competed in the rest of the tournaments in the US as well, reaching as far as the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows.
The Australian is scheduled to play in the United Cup for Australia at the end of the year, before which he is to take place in an exhibition event in Mexico alongside Cameron Norrie. Opelka, on the other hand, is yet to confirm where he will start his 2023 season from.