Big-serving American Reilly Opelka will not be making his long-awaited comeback from injury at his hometown event at Delray Beach after being described as 'not ready.'
The six-foot-11-inches right-hander from Palm Beach County has been out of action since August when enduring a third-round defeat in Washington to Nick Kyrgios. Opelka's withdrawal from the 2023 Delray Beach Open means he will now drop outside the ATP Top 100 and a source told local publication the Palm Beach Post the event in Florida came just too soon for the 25-year-old.
They said:
“He’s not quite ready at this time.’
Rumours in tennis circles are Opelka had hip surgery in August, a procedure that takes longer to recover from because of this height. And good friend Taylor Fritz recently expressed his sadness over Opelka's injury struggles.
"It's awful. He started last year really strong. He was playing really good tennis. It sucks. It could happen to any of us at any time. You never know when you can be out for 8 months. It's really sad to see. He's one of my best friends. I look forward to seeing him. Haven't gotten to spend a ton of time with him because he hasn't been at tournaments.''
The former World No. 17 had been enjoying a strong year last season, winning the title at last year's Dallas Open, currently being played, and also winning on the clay in Houston, Texas. He has four titles to his name throughout his career, including at Delray Beach and all have been on American soil.
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