Reilly Opelka has made a decent career in tennis with plenty of more years to come but he often thinks what might have happened if he chose another sport.
Choosing which sport to play as a professional is not something many athletes do but due to his size, Reilly Opelka could have had a decent basketball career if he focused on that sport. In a recent interview, Opelka revealed he thinks about that sometimes because NBA players have a far better life according to him:
"I wish I had played basketball. One hundred per cent. Those guys have a liveliness. The league minimum is $5 million a year. And you get to stay in the United States and fly private, large planes. It’s the life."
Turning the focus to tennis, Opelka added:
"I practice my serve every day, but I’m [not doing just that]. When I’m at home plate, I spend a lot more time on other things. I spend 20 to 30 minutes a day serving as an absolute soap.”
His size does help him in tennis but not as much as it would in other sports. It makes daily Tour life quite difficult at times:
"Finding comfortable beds in hotels and seats on aeroplanes is besides a challenge. The biggest issue is flying. Obviously, I have to fly Business class, but once I’m in Europe or somewhere where I have a three-hour flight where they don’t have a full-on Business course, that’s where I struggle. I’ve gotten off planes before with my back completely locked."
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