Reilly Opelka and Henry Patten Engage in a Social Media War Regarding Tennis Doubles Popularity

Henry Patten and his doubles partner, Harri Heliovaara, have reached the quarterfinals of the ongoing Wimbledon.

Reilly Opelka and Henry Patten Engage in a Social Media War Regarding Tennis Doubles Popularity

Reilly Opelka, Henry Patten (Image via ATP Tour, BBC)

During a meeting at Wimbledon, the ATP Tour discussed the changes they want to bring to doubles. One of the changes includes cutting their prize money and halving the doubles draw from 2028.

If this happens, then only 16 teams would be able to compete in ATP 1000 tournaments. And only eight would be able to compete in smaller events. In a statement, the doubles players said ATP’s proposal will “diminish the sporting excellence“.

Doubles isn’t a carnival sideshow. It is one of the most successful parts of tennis – integral to the amateur game – with the potential to do so much more. Yet the impact of the ATP’s proposals will be to diminish the sporting excellence that is professional doubles and turn off the pipeline of pro doubles players and the entire infrastructure that supports them. Doubles is not an afterthought we fell into. It has always been part of this sport’s identity, not a discount version of it.

The percentage of the prize money could be reduced from 20 percent to 10 percent so as to increase the prize money for the singles players.

Do the maths on what that means for anyone outside the top 30: it will be impossible to make a living. This is not a minor adjustment. It is a plan to end doubles as a viable profession, dressed up as a cost-saving measure – and it is being pushed through with almost no transparency and almost no consultation with the players whose careers and livelihoods are on the line.

The statement continued

Reilly Opelka, who has previously criticized doubles, has once again reignited the debate on Instagram. He said nobody watches doubles “because they lack talent“.

The problem isn’t doubles, but the doubles players, beyond [Marcel] Granollers, [Horacio] Zeballos and [Edouard] Vasselin.

Reilly Opelka wrote on Instagram

Doubles No.1 Henry Patten has criticized Opelka and took to his Instagram story to take a brutal dig at the American ace. The former Wimbledon doubles champion posted one of Opelka’s matches (Opelka versus Roman Safiullin), showing nearly empty stands, writing, “#saveopelka“.

Check out their posts here:

Last year, Opelka said there is no such thing as a doubles specialist, and the only players who play in this category are “failed singles players“.

After the US Open revamped its mixed doubles events, Taylor Fritz took to his Instagram story to express his support for doubles, to which Opelka jokingly wrote, “Disrespectful towards doubles specialists…Let’s cancel this guy @taylor_fritz.” Later, when he was asked about his stance by a user, Opelka wrote, “They should 100% get rid of dubs“.

Opelka withdrew from Wimbledon. He was last seen in action in the first round of this year’s French Open.

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Henry Patten is chasing his third Grand Slam doubles title at Wimbledon

Henry Patten and doubles partner Harri Heliovaara clinched their career’s first Grand Slam doubles title in 2024 by defeating Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson. They doubled their tally in last year’s Australian Open by defeating Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the final of the Australian Open.

Henry Patten
Henry Patten (Image via The Sun)

This year at the Australian Open, they suffered a third-round exit. But later at the French Open, they lost to Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the final.

In the ongoing tournament, they have reached the quarterfinals, where they are scheduled to lock horns with eighth seeds Guido Andreozzi and Manuel Guinard. Before arriving at Wimbledon, they reached the final of the Queen’s Club Championships, where they lost to Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic. This season, they have played seven finals, winning four titles.

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