Furious Reilly Opelka slams ‘worst’ umpire Greg Allensworth for almost ‘changing outcome’ of his match against Cameron Norrie due to heckling incident
Reilly Opelka accused the chair umpire of not doing his job after he received a point penalty at a crucial moment during the match.
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Cameron Norrie, Reilly Opelka (Images via X)
After making headlines at the Brisbane International for knocking out Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, Reilly Opelka sparked controversy at the Dallas Open. A heckler incurred the wrath of Opelka when he was up against Cameron Norrie in the fourth round.
The incident happened in the third set. Opelka was serving for the match when the scores were 4-6, 7-6(5), 5-4 with both players at 30-30. A heckler kept bothering the American throughout the match but Opelka had had enough.
“Are you doing it on f*****g purpose or what!” yelled Opelka at the heckler. Though the heckler was removed, the chair umpire Greg Allensworth handed the World No.145 a code violation and a point penalty.
Norrie went up 40-30 but he couldn’t break Opelka and eventually lost the match. But the point penalty angered Opelka who didn’t mince his words while condemning Allensworth after the match.
Greg Allensworth is the worst ref in the ATP. We were talking about him in the locker room, all the players, it really is a coincidence about two days ago…is the worst one…Allensworth is really bad, he almost changed the outcome of that match, just because he doesn’t really know what he is doing.
Reilly Opelka said during his interview with Cheryl Murray
“Greg Allensworth is the worst ref in the ATP”
— The Grandstand (@TennGrand) February 7, 2025
Reilly Opelka BLASTS the chair umpire following his match and calls for the ATP to suspend him
video @CMurray234 pic.twitter.com/IDZBw0JuXU
Opelka accused Allensworth of not doing his job and said he hopes the ATP penalizes him and keeps him on the sidelines for a few tournaments. The 27-year-old also warned the hecklers, saying he can’t be a ‘punching bag’ and let it be an ‘one-sided traffic’.
Reilly Opelka to lock horns with Tommy Paul next
After the win over Cameron Norrie, Reilly Opelka made it to the quarterfinals for the second time this year. He had reached the final of the Brisbane International but gave a walkover to Jiri Lehecka.
Then after withdrawing from the ASB Classic, Opelka suffered a second-round exit at the Australian Open. He kickstarted his Dallas Open campaign with a straight-set win over Alexander Shevchenko.
Opelka will next square off against compatriot Tommy Paul. The upcoming match will be their first encounter on the ATP Tour.
The 27-year-old Paul, who is the third seed in the tournament, had reached the semifinals at the Adelaide International and the quarterfinals at the Australian Open this season before commencing his Dallas Open campaign with a three-set victory over Jenson Brooksby. Before setting up the clash with Opelka, Paul fended off Ethan Quinn in straight sets.
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Gouri Das
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