By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Friday, February 7, 2025
Photo credit: Sam Hodde/Getty
Reilly Opelka is calling on the ATP to take action for a chair umpire’s inaction.
Incensed after chair umpire Greg Allensworth hit him with a code violation for feuding with a fan he said was intentionally coughing to disrupt his serve, Opelka cursed out the fan, called out Allensworth as the “worst ref on the ATP” and implored the ATP to suspend the chair umpire after the entire emotional incident.
It all went down during Opelka’s wild 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 win over Cameron Norrie at the Dallas Open on Thursday.
Deadlocked at 30-all as he served for the match, Opelka paused play to ask the fan if he was deliberately coughing as a distraction. That prompted an exchange between player and fan with Opelka eventually cursing out the fan and telling him to leave the arena.
Chair umpire Allensworth hit Opelka with an audible obscenity code violation followed by a point penalty after the American unloaded audible obscenity on the chair umpire.
A livid Opelka blasted Allensworth as “real bad” saying the chair umpire’s actions—opting against intervening with the fan and then eventually hitting Opelka with the point penalty—could have cost him the match.
"He's real bad. He almost changed the outcome of that match just because he doesn't really know what he's doing. He got emotional when we were arguing," Opelka said in comments published by Reuters. "He got very tense and frantic, he couldn't give me an answer. He didn't tell that guy to shut up, he was doing it for three points.
"He didn't do his job, so I had to tell him, 'Get out of here'. The guy was being pretty quite rude.”
It's unclear if Allensworth heard details of the dispute between Opelka and the fan he claimed was deliberately disrupting his serve at 5-4 in the final set.
Stars ranging from Danielle Collins to Novak Djokovic have confronted hecklers in the past. Opelka said he’s not a human pinata and will not tolerate disrespect from abusive fans.
"It shouldn't be one-sided traffic. If you want to be disrespectful to me, I can't just be a punching bag,” Opelka said. “If the ref isn't doing his job, then he penalizes me - not a good look.”
The 27-year-old Opelka will face good buddy, former roommate and defending Dallas champion Tommy Paul for a quarterfinal spot.
The outspoken Opelka has criticized chair umpires, tournament officials and American tennis media in the past.
This time, Opelka is calling for the ATP to suspend Allensworth claiming the chair nearly cost him this match.
"It would be nice to maybe sideline him for a few tournaments," added Opelka. "He gets no penalty. If I lose that point, I lose that match. There's a difference in my paycheck, he gets no repercussions.
"He should be on the sideline for about four weeks, maybe learn a thing or two... You've got to understand the situation. You can't always play by the rulebook. It's just common sense."
If Opelka’s version of events is indeed true, the fan would not be the first to play the “coughing card” in an effort to disrupt a player.
Hall of Famer Boris Becker famously suffered sudden coughing fits at times when opponent John McEnroe was ready to serve, eventually prompting the mercurial McEnroe to call the German out on court telling him to knock it off.
“Come on John, give me a break, I’ve got a cold,” Becker said.
“You’ve had a cold for years!” McEnroe shot back suggesting Becker’s coughing was pure gamesmanship.
Watch McEnroe mockingly mimic the Becker coughing during their Paris Indoor showdown above.