Reilly Opelka says all-time greats such as Serena and Venus Williams are “wired differently” and underlined he does not mean it in a negative way. Serena, 41, retired from tennis after year’s US Open. Venus, 42, is still listed as an active player and she has indicated that she plans to play again in 2023.
In the men’s game, 41-year-old Roger Federer also retired recently, while 36-year-old Rafael Nadal and 35-year-old Novak Djokovic are still active. “You look at the mindset of Top 5 guys on tour; they are abnormal.
They’re extremely abnormal human beings. They’re wired differently and I know from experience of being around Venus and Serena Williams, there is nothing normal about them and I mean that as a total compliment. Imagine being 38, 39 years old with every record in the game and everything you can imagine but still doing everything possible to do better, I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that,” Opelka said on the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast.
Opelka on his mindset
“My mentality I would say is analytical and that’s how I’ve always been wired, but it’s about finding the right balance and not being too analytical to where it becomes detrimental, but having a clear identity of who you are a tennis players I think is one of the most important things in the game,” Opelka explained.
This year, Opelka captured two titles in three finals played – the American won Dallas and Houston, while he finished as runner-up in Delray Beach. In early August, Opelka suffered a round-of-16 defeat in Washington to Nick Kyrgios.
Due to injury, Opelka didn’t play again in 2022. After a good start to the season, Opelka struggled from the grass season onward. Opelka was likely hampered by an injury during that period and that’s why he decided to end his season after Washington.
