{"id":243828,"date":"2025-09-21T12:07:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T12:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/243828\/"},"modified":"2025-09-21T12:07:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T12:07:15","slug":"john-mcenroe-says-reilly-opelka-has-a-problem-on-his-serve-which-is-stopping-him-reaching-the-top-20-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/243828\/","title":{"rendered":"John McEnroe says Reilly Opelka has a problem on his serve which is stopping him reaching the top 20 in the world"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Reilly Opelka came up short in his opening match at the 2025 Laver Cup.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Returning to Team World after a four-year absence, Opelka took on Norway\u2019s Casper Ruud in the first match of the 2025 Laver Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fighting hard, Opelka pushed Ruud<\/a> close in both sets, but struggled to keep up with the world number 12, who produced a world-class serving performance.<\/p>\n

\"CasperPhoto by Ezra Shaw\/Getty Images for Laver Cup<\/p>\n

Eventually, Opelka lost to Ruud<\/a> in straight sets, 4-6, 6-7 [4-7] in San Francisco, USA.<\/p>\n

While Ruud impressed many with his serving efforts, the same could not be said about Opelka<\/a>, as one tennis legend has now identified the problem with his serve that is holding him back.<\/p>\n

John McEnroe says Reilly Opelka must \u2018hit his spots better\u2019 if he wants to be a top 20 player<\/p>\n

Reacting to Opelka\u2019s defeat to Ruud, ex-Team World captain, John McEnroe<\/a>, had this to say about the 28-year-old.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, if he wants to get back in the top 20, you can see athletically at seven feet tall, he\u2019s a pretty damn good athlete, but he\u2019s got to hit his spots better on his serve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t do that for me consistently enough, and therefore, he becomes more hesitant about coming forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ReillyPhoto by Eakin Howard\/Getty Images for Laver Cup<\/p>\n

Opelka was once ranked inside the world\u2019s top 20, reaching a career-high of 17th in 2022, but now sits outside the top 50.<\/p>\n\nRank<\/td>\nName<\/td>\nCountry<\/td>\nPoints<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1<\/td>\nCarlos Alcaraz<\/td>\nSpain<\/td>\n11,540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n2<\/td>\nJannik Sinner<\/td>\nItaly<\/td>\n10,780<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n3<\/td>\nAlexander Zverev<\/td>\nGermany<\/td>\n5,930<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n10<\/td>\nKaren Khachanov<\/td>\nRussia<\/td>\n3,280<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n20<\/td>\nAlejandro Davidovich Fokina<\/td>\nSpain<\/td>\n2,225<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n50<\/td>\nMarcos Giron<\/td>\nUSA<\/td>\n1,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n62<\/strong><\/td>\nReilly Opelka<\/strong><\/td>\nUSA<\/strong><\/td>\n895<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n75<\/td>\nQuentin Halys<\/td>\nFrance<\/td>\n806<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n100<\/td>\nEmilio Nava<\/td>\nUSA<\/td>\n633<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n200<\/td>\nLuca Van Assche<\/td>\nFrance<\/td>\n267<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Select players in the ATP top 100<\/p>\n

The American currently trails world number 20 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina<\/a> by 1,330 points, leaving him a long way off the top players on tour.<\/p>\n

McEnroe believes adjustments to his serve could fire Opelka back into the top 20, but how does his serve stack up against his ATP Tour<\/a> rivals?<\/p>\n

Reilly Opelka has the seventh-best serve in men\u2019s tennis<\/p>\n

According to \u2018Serve Rating\u2019, Opelka has one of the ten best serves in men\u2019s tennis.<\/p>\n\nRank<\/strong><\/td>\nName<\/strong><\/td>\nServe Rating<\/strong><\/td>\n1st Serve %<\/strong><\/td>\nWin % on 1st Serve<\/strong><\/td>\nWin % on 2nd Serve<\/strong><\/td>\n% Service games won<\/strong><\/td>\nAverage aces per match<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1<\/td>\nGiovanni Mpetshi Perricard<\/td>\n297.3<\/td>\n64.5%<\/td>\n79.2%<\/td>\n53.7%<\/td>\n89.6%<\/td>\n14.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n2<\/td>\nJannik Sinner<\/td>\n296.3<\/td>\n60.6%<\/td>\n78.9%<\/td>\n59.6%<\/td>\n92.0%<\/td>\n6.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n3<\/td>\nTaylor Fritz<\/td>\n296.2<\/td>\n63.9%<\/td>\n79.4%<\/td>\n54.3%<\/td>\n89.3%<\/td>\n11.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n4<\/td>\nAlexander Zverev<\/td>\n295.2<\/td>\n71.2%<\/td>\n75.2%<\/td>\n54.7%<\/td>\n88.3%<\/td>\n7.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n5<\/td>\nNovak Djokovic<\/td>\n294.0<\/td>\n66.5%<\/td>\n76.8%<\/td>\n55.9%<\/td>\n88.8%<\/td>\n8.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n6<\/td>\nMatteo Berrettini<\/td>\n292.2<\/td>\n68.8%<\/td>\n75.8%<\/td>\n52.2%<\/td>\n86.6%<\/td>\n10.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n7<\/td>\nReilly Opelka<\/td>\n291.9<\/td>\n61.4%<\/td>\n78.9%<\/td>\n51.4%<\/td>\n88.3%<\/td>\n16.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n8<\/td>\nBen Shelton<\/td>\n291.7<\/td>\n65.1%<\/td>\n75.8%<\/td>\n55.7%<\/td>\n88.7%<\/td>\n9.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n9<\/td>\nCarlos Alcaraz<\/td>\n287.4<\/td>\n64.1%<\/td>\n74.7%<\/td>\n57.3%<\/td>\n88.0%<\/td>\n5.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n10<\/td>\nBrandon Nakashima<\/td>\n286.3<\/td>\n66.0%<\/td>\n74.5%<\/td>\n53.4%<\/td>\n84.9%<\/td>\n8.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

ATP Tour Serve Rating (Past 52 weeks)<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, Opelka leads the ATP Tour for average number of aces per match with 16.1, although it\u2019s elsewhere that he often struggles.<\/p>\n

His first serve % is lacking compared to some of the other top servers on tour, and he has similar issues with his win % on second serve.<\/p>\n

\"ReillyPhoto by Kate McShane\/Getty Images for LTA<\/p>\n

Should he improve those areas of his game, then perhaps Opelka could find himself charging back towards the top 20 before too long.<\/p>\n

For now, Opelka will focus on the Laver Cup, supporting his team on day two.<\/p>\n

Only time will tell if Opelka will play another match at the 2025 Laver Cup, having been omitted from Saturday\u2019s line-up.<\/p>\n

Day two line-up<\/p>\n