Two and a half years after his last appearance at Grand Slam level, America’s Reilly Opelka is returning to Grand Slam tennis following a rotten run with injury.
The 6 ft 11inch Florida native has been absent from the ATP Tour after initially taking a brief hiatus for a minor surgery designed to rid Opelka of a tumorous growth in his right hip in 2022.
However, despite the success of the initial surgery, Opelka was subsequently diagnosed with a subluxed wrist tendon which also required surgical intervention. What followed was a surgical nightmare and umpteen complications à la Nick Kygrios.
“The hip feels amazing”, Opelka told the press during his comeback tournament at the INFOSYS Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island.
As for the wrist?
“I saw a bad surgeon," Opelka said.
“She messed up on the first one. It got infected. I was in excruciating pain. I couldn’t sleep at night, had pain down my arm and hand. I needed a second surgery and that caused problems after a cast on my arm led to nerve issues.
“When you're in a sling with your elbow immobilised and the cast up to [the upper arm] for five months, I couldn't even straighten my arm. So imagine for a tennis player if you can't even straighten your arm.
“I went all over the world tirelessly trying to see anyone and everyone that could try to help. So I've been traveling the last eight months just seeing every specialist you can imagine, throwing the kitchen sink at this thing.”
The former world number 17 staged a brief comeback at a Challenger event in Charlottesville in October last year, but could not withstand the pain and pulled the pin after one match.
Such was the enormity of the complications Opelka faced, he even considered retirement.
“I definitely did (think of retiring)," said Opelka,
"I was ready to pivot. I’m pretty confident I’ll land on my feet. I’ve always landed on my feet in whatever I did. I think I’m good at making [the] best of situations, and for me, I was ready to pivot."
Fortunately for Opelka, he is a man with many interests and a life outside of tennis.
Often seen sitting front row at runways or perusing a gallery, Opelka is a lover of the arts and continued to immerse himself in the culture during his time away from the fast-paced world of professional tennis.
“Artists are such special people to hang around,” Opelka told the ATP Tour media.
“That's not a job you pick, it picks you. I think it takes a special guy or woman to be an artist,” Opelka said. “I've been around some different minds, really smart, nice people. That's the best way to explain it.”
“I can pick up the phone and call Tim [Van Laere] any day and I got to interview Rinus Vandevelde. One of his artists, Kati Heck, painted me,” he revealed.
“[I’m] very fortunate to have that connection with him.”
Now, a handful of tournaments into this comeback, Opelka has chalked up wins against some handy opponents including Adrian Mannarino (#42), James Duckworth (#70), and compatriot Aleksander Kovacevic (#75).
Now ranked 322 in the world, Opelka has been relying on wildcards to enter ATP Tour level tournaments, which are far easier for him to obtain at events on US soil and also leaves Opelka free to rely on his protected ranking for off-shore events. However, still scorned by being overlooked for a wildcard for the 2018 US Open as an eighteen-year-old ranked 105 in the world, Opelka utilised his protected ranking to ensure his place in this year's US Open.
In the opening round, Opelka will face Italian 18th seed, Lorenzo Musetti. While Musetti is having a career year that includes a Wimbledon semi-final and a Bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, Opelka should be optimistic as he owns a 3-0 head-to-head record against the Italian and has not dropped a single set to the flashy one-hander.
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