Reilly Opelka isn’t really known for his subtlety. Earlier this year, for instance, he reignited the debate over the relevance of doubles events, saying, “Doubles is for failed singles players.” Then, during the Dallas Open, he called for the chair umpire Greg Allensworth to be suspended by the ATP, after he received a code violation for confronting a spectator in the stands who Opelka claimed was deliberately coughing to interrupt his serve. He even called Allensworth, “worst ref on the ATP“. A similar incident happened at the Indian Wells as well.

In his first round match at the 2025 Indian Wells Open, Reilly Opelka was spotted engaging in a heated argument with the chair umpire, Nacho Forcadell, due to bad lights before abruptly calling for physio after the umpire refused to stop play. Seeing him calling the physio, the umpire informed the American star that it was not the right way to stop play. However, despite that, Opelka sat on his bench, and then the physio had to eventually enter the court to treat his wrist issue. Later on, although Opelka agreed to play when the lights were turned on, he received a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The match ended at 7-5,6-4 in favor of Roman Safiulin. But now, almost four and a half months since that incident, Reilly Opelka has shared some interesting details about the controversy, which also cost him dearly in terms of fines. In a recent Instagram story, he shared a screenshot of an official document that detailed the breakdown of the financial penalties he received for his conduct at the event and the exact words that he had said to his opponent at that time, while complaining about the umpire—”Nacho is an idiot.” “The ‘i’ word can be expensive @atptour,” he wrote across the screenshot of the document, making no secret of his annoyance at the whole debacle.

Chapter VIII of the 2025 ATP Official Rulebook states that both verbal abuse and unsportsmanlike conduct at ATP Tour Masters 1000 tournaments shall make a player liable to pay a fine of $60,000. Although only a part of the document is visible in his Instagram story, it seems like he received fines of $30,000 (50% of $60,000) and $24,600 (41% of $60,000), respectively, for each of his two offences (both adjudged “Average” in their severity) at the event.

What’s interesting is that, in a previous instance, while sharing his thoughts on his opponent’s (Holger Rune’s) actions in a similar incident, Opelka had claimed he was fined $80,000 at the Indian Wells. The confrontation with Allensworth in Dallas, on the other hand, cost him $40,000. And in case the numbers are confusing and you just want to know what the total damage so far has been, Opelka has got you covered there, too.

“90k in total but who’s counting:),” he wrote in the comments section of a Cracked Racquets Instagram post that shared the news of him being slapped with the $40,000 fine. And guess what? He did not limit himself to Instagram in expressing his dissatisfaction with the whole situation.

Reilly Opelka seen complaining to the chair umpire about his opponent

Ranked 73rd in the world, Reilly Opelka got off to a stellar start to his season, beating the likes of Novak Djokovic and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on his way to the final at the Brisbane International. Following that event, he also reached the QF in Dallas, but then, after that, Opelka struggled a bit to deliver in the rest of the tournaments before the Libema Open. At that pre-Wimbledon grass court event, he reached the SF, but his title-winning dream was shattered at the hands of Belgium’s Zizou Bergs.

It has been a long time since we’ve seen the 6ft 11 inches American with a title in his hand. His fans hoped for better results at the North American swing, but they still continue to elude him. He had a disappointing end to his campaign at the Cincinnati Open with a 7-6(4),4-6,5-7 defeat against Argentina’s Francisco Comesana. But this match was full of entertainment!

We saw the play being halted midway as the Argentine looked a bit unwell during the second set. After losing the first set to Opelka, Comesana took control of the second set and secured a 4-3 (15-0) lead. But then, just when he was about to serve, he decided to stop play and walked gingerly towards his courtside, catching the umpire’s attention. Later on, we saw him having his blood pressure checked, and Comesana put ice bags on his neck to combat the scorching heat in Ohio.

After that 11-minute medical timeout, both players came back to action with Francisco Comesana securing the second set by 6-4. But shortly after the second set, the Argentine headed for a toilet break and to change his outfit. Seeing this, Reilly Opelka became a bit frustrated and was seen having a conversation with the chair umpire. The American said, “How many breaks will this guy get? The last time I had a break that long I got fined 150K.”

Despite showing a tough fight in the third set, Reilly Opelka failed to seal the match. Tough times for the American star. Can he come up with a better performance at the US Open this year and also avoid fines in the process?