Why fans are tearing into 'out of touch' Reilly Opelka for complaining about Madrid Open player accomodations

Reilly Opelka has come under fire from tennis fans after he sarcastically called out his accommodation in Madrid ahead of his 2025 Madrid Open campaign. A lot of the criticism stemmed from Opelka being a plaintiff in the Novak Djokovic-led PTPA's class action lawsuits against the ITF, ATP, WTA and ITIA.

The PTPA controversially filed the lawsuits earlier this year, suggesting that tennis' governing bodies are functioning collectively like a "cartel" and undermining players' interests. The 27-year-old happens to be one of the most high-profile plaintiffs alongside fellow ATP colleague and rival Nick Kyrgios.

Reilly Opelka also raised eyebrows recently after reportedly testifying to concerning allegations against Andrea Gaudenzi, the ATP Chairman. On Sunday, April 20, the American posted a picture as an Instagram Story, which was of a rather obstructed view from the accommodation provided to him in the Spanish capital by the Madrid Open. The 27-year-old sarcastically captioned the post:

"Madrid Sunset views are the best 😍"

The post didn't take long to gain traction on X (formerly Twitter) and several fans proceeded to lash out at Opelka.

"Help me PTPA my complimentary five star luxury hotel room doesn’t come with a sea view 😢 Least out of touch tennis player," one fan wrote. "Top 100 players: "My 5-star hotel in Madrid doesn't have a sea view 🤬🤬🤬" Below top-100 players: "I couldn't feed my family this week"," commented another. "Is this what the lawsuit is about 😭😭😭," another fan chimed in.

Here are some other reactions from tennis fans to the American's jibe at his accommodation in Madrid:

"Let's just hope that the PTPA doesn't file another motion about slavery with him again as a witness.😏🎾😅 #Tennis #PTPA #TennisDrama," wrote one fan. "As a successful single player, he should be able to afford better hotel 🙂‍↔️🙂‍↔️," another added. "Why are they acting like they're being held hostage? Just leave and get your own fancy hotel," weighed in yet another fan.

Opelka, the ATP No. 103, has entered the men's singles main draw of the 2025 Madrid Open on a protected ranking and is set to start his campaign against a qualifier. His latest outing at the ATP Masters 1000 event in the Spanish capital came back in 2022.

Sebastian Korda made light work of Reilly Opelka at Madrid Open 2022

Sebastian Korda hits a two-handed backhand against Reilly Opelka at the 2022 Madrid Open (Source: Getty)

Reilly Opelka made his Madrid Open debut in 2019 and sealed his spot in the main draw by winning his qualifying matches. He won his main draw debut at the event against Pablo Carreno Busta, but was ousted from the tournament in the second round by 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem.

The American returned to the event for its 2021 edition. This time though, he fell to a straight-set defeat in the first round at the hands of Dominik Koepfer.

Opelka participated at the 2022 Madrid Open as well. Here, he suffered another first-round loss at the tournament, this time to compatriot Sebastian Korda, who registered a comfortable 6-3, 7-5 win.

Edited by Sudipto Pati