What a bummer, Opelka was having the tournament of his life and this injury happens. I really want him to recover for the Australian Open because he seemed in great shape. I had a Stake punt on Opelka but luckily I got refunded, Lecheka didn't look happy either he looked really sad about it.
@@HockeyMan666 what are you talking about? Opelka is 27. Those kind of players can reach their peak when they are way older than the others. Take Isner for example.
This reminded me of Hyeon Chung when he retired at the 2018 AO, had a great week, defeated Djokovic at the 4R, but retired due to an injury when everyone thought he might have had a chance on winning, hopefully Opelka, you will have a smooth recovery my friend.
Lets hope that this is a blip for Reilly because he showed this tournament what a monumental talent he has. His game is amazing - he reminds me so much of DelPo...
Man! Opelka played so well. Not only brute force but he also moved so well for such a huge guy. Congrats to Lehechka he really played solid tennis thorughout the week.
@@alientube1984 yes but its so close the tournament and the requierement, that i personally cant see him win or something, you can have 2 or 3 good matches but on a GS u need more than that
Sad for Lehecka to win a tournament that way. Kudos to Opelka for his week and return and for trying to make it although he could not play. There's a quite impressive wave of retirements this weeks, hard beginning of a season.
Don't forget guys Jiri Lehecka played the mens Doubles Tennis Finals last night against Great Britain and lost and Lehecka is playing the Mens Singles Finals today at Brisbane Internet ATP so his definitely tired which would give Opelka a uperhand but I'm disappointed he withdraw due to injury not well sigh 😕
When you have such an enormous frame it’s hard man. He hits the ball an absolute tonne. But clearly the game takes a lot out of him too. His game when in full flow is astonishing.
I was really hoping for Opelka to pull through this week. Hes so fun to watch but hes struggled just to get on court over the last few years and it sucks. He has a great ground game and ofc a top tier serve, if his body could hold up i fully believe hed have several ATP500 titles and a scattering of 250s. Shame to see him hurting again
Soo sad for Opelka, because he was soo close to win at Brisbane, I'm very sure😢 He played soo good this tournament, but I hope he can ricover soon and he can play at AO👍 Best of look Opelka👏
The players (Dimitrov, Machac, Opelka) retiring from their match these past few days all had their fair share of injury problems in the past so i dont think it is a trend we should be worrying about. It is what it is. Hopefully they can recover before the AO.
Gregor Dimitrov is an old man now mate he looks like Roger Federer past his prime time what a big waste of talent over then years and he didn't win anything other than the Nitto ATM finials which was a fluke lmao time to retire old man your era is over haha 🤣😂
So many retirements today (Osaka, Opelka and 3 in the Adelaide qualies) and we're not even through the first week of the new year... Tournaments just before slams have the hardest luck.
I know Opelka had a wrist or hand issue during his last match. I wasn't aware of his back issue. He just didn't look good on the court on this day. Probably the right decision for his own health. He's been injured for so long, it's sad... I assume his back issue may be due a lot to his size and how hard he has to abuse his body to move as well as he does. I hope that he is able to recover and play his best for several more years! Lehecka was played great, as well. But, no one likes to win this way...
@Lewythefly yeah but sometimes it's best not to play these atp 250 events because you get tired and could injure yourself just before the Australian Open which gives more money & more points soo it is better to skip the small events and go straight to Aussie Open to train & practice mate duh 🤦♂️
Really feel for the big guy, he should feel very proud of what he has achieved, he came back from an injury a while ago and has worked hard. I hope he recovers soon. Not to take anything away from Jiri's great performance.
Bro beats Djokovic, takes out a fellow but upcoming monster servebot to make the final but has to retire. He must be so disappointed, but he should also be proud of his results!
Opelka as a tall man is doing an -amazing- amount of athleticism the way hes pushed himself to not just be a big man, but like the greats only utilizing his height and not relying on it. John Isner and Karlovic etc even Raonic look like planted trees at the same level compared to what Opelka is pioneering himself out to do and make no mistake everyone knows hes lethal not injured, and has been. He crushed the new big man that alone for me was the final/win. Lehecka though is in some kind of phenomenal form what he's done to destroy really good players this guy could win a major like this or definitely place final.
Opelka has had problems with wrist, he had that in SF against Perricard, I thought he was going to retire in that match. Now he had problems with back in final😢 I'm afraid that we are not going to see a lot of Opelka in the future. His body can't take this 🙁
It's because the ATP schedule is too demanding. Go play Tennis for a few hours at high intensity, and then do it again for a week straight. Then onto the next tournament... it's crazy.
@@tdane5017 Why do you think they were injured in the first place? Last season was only a couple months ago. Are you saying ATP doesn't have a demanding schedule?
@ all pro sports have demanding schedules. Tennis is definitely more physical than in the past because no one comes to net anymore. Alcaraz played 52 matches last year. That’s not many. That’s like 4 per month. Zverev played the most out of anyone… I think he was in the mid 70’s. Sinner was low 60’s. Not that much over the course of a whole year. McEnroe was 82-3 in 1985 with crappy rackets and no traveling physio and terrible medical treatments available. Plus he played almost as many doubles matches per year. I think players are more prone to retire now than in the past. They just played through it and lost.
Sad way to end a tourney like this. The match could be a potential contender for the shortest finals ever played. Remembered a final of ATP tour finals in which Fed was injured and he skipped. A one set exhibition was played between Murray and Djoko as a compensation.
Do the organizers give some compensation to the people having tickets ? Imagine spending a hundred or more dollars for the day and have it cut that short
Its a sad shame honestly because if Opelka played on level of every match beforehand, he would have won. Only hope is that this is more back than wrist and that he will be good for AO
@@OmegaMouse Maybe 10 yrs ago this was kind of the case but not so much now and even so they are not always injured. All players need to work on now is proper strength lifting. There is better and more holistic recovery available. As for not making it deep I guarantee there is going to be a lot of tall players going deep into slams
This is not fair to the audience. They need to make a new rule that allows the losers of the semifinal (Djokovic vs [in this case because of Dimitrov walkover] Jarry) to play and the winner of that to advance to play the final in cases like this!
I think in some tournaments there is a rule that if there is 1 hour of play before rain or something starts then you dont get refund. Here the match was 15 minutes. In my opinion specators should get refund. For sure most of them were there to see the singles match and not the doubles.
Reilly gets hurt getting out of bed , absolutely heartbreaking, unfortunately this is what 7 ft looks like playing professional Tennis, The body can’t take it on the ATP Tour ! 6’6 is a out the cut off for being able to hold up unfortunately.. 6’1 is about the best height for speed, power , longevity
This is why his win over Novak really meant nothing.. I like Opelka but he is always going to have a much easier time playing best of 3 and even that isn't a guarantee that his body will hold up for the whole event...don't even get me started on best of 5. He may have better groundies than Karlovic or Isner, but his game is much more grueling on his body and I'm sure he already has more injury hiatus than the other two in their careers..
Yeah, these big guys are and X factor. You don't want to run into one too early, but they always get injured. Tennis is not for tall people. They can have a few great games, but never consistent.
I really like this guy and he played amazing vs Novak but the first thing I thought about was how long his body (giant frame) going withstand that level of punishment. Guess we found out. Sucks for him and its disappointing but not unexpected.
Damn! 🥺I was worried about this. Idk if he’ll do well in a grand slam playing 5setters … I see him doing well in grass. Or indoor. But again not sure how sustainable his game is.
What a bummer, Opelka was having the tournament of his life and this injury happens. I really want him to recover for the Australian Open because he seemed in great shape. I had a Stake punt on Opelka but luckily I got refunded, Lecheka didn't look happy either he looked really sad about it.
thats what happens when you get to that age, he doesnt have many tourneys left sadly
Opelka was in the final of a masters 1000 event 4 years ago so I wouldn't say this is the tournament of his life
@@HockeyMan666 what are you talking about? Opelka is 27. Those kind of players can reach their peak when they are way older than the others. Take Isner for example.
This reminded me of Hyeon Chung when he retired at the 2018 AO, had a great week, defeated Djokovic at the 4R, but retired due to an injury when everyone thought he might have had a chance on winning, hopefully Opelka, you will have a smooth recovery my friend.
Nardi, Popyrin, Tabilo and now Opelka are victims of curse after beating Djokovic! Maybe they shouldn't have beaten old Djokovic
@@wimzswimz9843 lol djokovic curse
Lets hope that this is a blip for Reilly because he showed this tournament what a monumental talent he has. His game is amazing - he reminds me so much of DelPo...
No curse plz..
Lehecka looked so disappointed to shake hands so quickly.
Ofc he is. It feels „not deserved“ if you win a title because your opponent (s) gave up because they were injured!
Also, because he seemed to be comfortably winning so it kinda adds insult to injury. (No pun intended)
Dimitrov had to retire vs him in the semis as well, nice for the wallet but not how he wanted to win!
Noooooooooo
He knows that feeling well (Madrid 2024)
Is that a shame for Opelka after this great Week, hope he is okay and can play the Australian Open😢
If he has problems to play a week best of 3 tennis he should not play best of 5 he should rest
@@Bojanthekidcan i get a refund for this match tho ?? They straight up robbed me.
@harryp3804 I don't think so, you won't go bankrupt
@@harryp3804 You watched the Doubles afterwards though?
Knew he didn't have it in him
Get well Reilly! You played incredible this week, hope this marks your return to the highest level
Man! Opelka played so well. Not only brute force but he also moved so well for such a huge guy. Congrats to Lehechka he really played solid tennis thorughout the week.
The sport is so explosively athletic now that the injuries are becoming a plague 😮
I'd reverse it...but yes, I agree.
Only makes the achievements and longevity of the big 3 only that much more incredible
Nah he’s just to big
It's just a first tournament after a litle break,nothing serious they'll all play in AO! That's the main goal!
@@alientube1984 yes but its so close the tournament and the requierement, that i personally cant see him win or something, you can have 2 or 3 good matches but on a GS u need more than that
Sad for Lehecka to win a tournament that way. Kudos to Opelka for his week and return and for trying to make it although he could not play.
There's a quite impressive wave of retirements this weeks, hard beginning of a season.
He can be happy because of this...Because he wouldnt win against healthy Opelka...Bad returner,and opelka got hard serve
@@brunomarevic9920 yeah sure lol, he could 100% win
But beating Dimitrov is validation enough
Don't forget guys Jiri Lehecka played the mens Doubles Tennis Finals last night against Great Britain and lost and Lehecka is playing the Mens Singles Finals today at Brisbane Internet ATP so his definitely tired which would give Opelka a uperhand but I'm disappointed he withdraw due to injury not well sigh 😕
But isn't it sort of illegal to go out to play knowing you are going to retire early anyway?
This is so nice to see; great athletes so polite and respectful to their fans and opponents.
When you have such an enormous frame it’s hard man. He hits the ball an absolute tonne. But clearly the game takes a lot out of him too. His game when in full flow is astonishing.
what a lucky person like Lehecka。。twice retried for injury....incredible in the semi and final.
It's a shame for Opelka.
Congratulations to Lehecka to win the Tournament
So many retirements last couple of weeks..
I feel for Reilly..
He had a great tournament..
Unfortunate ending 😢
true shame for both players. nobody wants to lose like this, nobody wants to win like this.
Such a shame. He is such a cool and nice guy. Congrats to Lehecka, he is an absolute gentleman.
I was really hoping for Opelka to pull through this week. Hes so fun to watch but hes struggled just to get on court over the last few years and it sucks. He has a great ground game and ofc a top tier serve, if his body could hold up i fully believe hed have several ATP500 titles and a scattering of 250s. Shame to see him hurting again
lehecka what a great lad
Soo sad for Opelka, because he was soo close to win at Brisbane, I'm very sure😢
He played soo good this tournament, but I hope he can ricover soon and he can play at AO👍
Best of look Opelka👏
I was exited for this match after the players Opelka beat. I hope he continues this great level this year
The players (Dimitrov, Machac, Opelka) retiring from their match these past few days all had their fair share of injury problems in the past so i dont think it is a trend we should be worrying about. It is what it is. Hopefully they can recover before the AO.
Gregor Dimitrov is an old man now mate he looks like Roger Federer past his prime time what a big waste of talent over then years and he didn't win anything other than the Nitto ATM finials which was a fluke lmao time to retire old man your era is over haha 🤣😂
One of the best long final of 2025.
Get well soon. Tennis needs Opelka!
So many retirements today (Osaka, Opelka and 3 in the Adelaide qualies) and we're not even through the first week of the new year...
Tournaments just before slams have the hardest luck.
I think its also because players are being extra careful to be fit for the slams
Dimitrov
Zverev pulled out of the United Cup and Machac retired vs Fritz
@@NozzaCooksLikely, yep. Plus match fitness is separate from actual fitness and jumping back in after only a short offseason probably has a role too.
Gambling mafia controls the matches
The bigger you are the more injury prone you are, especially in tennis. Tennis is not a big man sports, not for long term anyway.
Marat Safin the Russian Giant ?
I know Opelka had a wrist or hand issue during his last match. I wasn't aware of his back issue. He just didn't look good on the court on this day. Probably the right decision for his own health. He's been injured for so long, it's sad...
I assume his back issue may be due a lot to his size and how hard he has to abuse his body to move as well as he does. I hope that he is able to recover and play his best for several more years!
Lehecka was played great, as well. But, no one likes to win this way...
Both are amazing players started really well the season 2025
Hard to keep such a large frame intact with the brutality of the game. Great effort and congrats to Lehechka. Quick recovery to Opelka.
Pre slam tournaments seem pointless nowadays. Lots of players don’t play or get injured and retire.
They are ideal prep to get match fit and play on the same hard court. Its typical, no one plans to get injured though
It is a bit annoying, the players definitely don't try as much
Well, at least he gets 500 points for winning this. It’s gonna send his ranking up several spots.
@Lewythefly yeah but sometimes it's best not to play these atp 250 events because you get tired and could injure yourself just before the Australian Open which gives more money & more points soo it is better to skip the small events and go straight to Aussie Open to train & practice mate duh 🤦♂️
I hope u play more 😊 i Really like your Tennis Style
Really feel for the big guy, he should feel very proud of what he has achieved, he came back from an injury a while ago and has worked hard. I hope he recovers soon. Not to take anything away from Jiri's great performance.
Bro beats Djokovic, takes out a fellow but upcoming monster servebot to make the final but has to retire. He must be so disappointed, but he should also be proud of his results!
First Grigor in the semis and now Opelka in the final .....Lehecka is the luckiest guy of the week ,that said it sucks to win in this way
Not luck, he did Nofap, and was rewarded from the Universe, to win like this.
@@pauljohnson6019 😂yp what
@@sregserhogsergoih You heard right!
Opelka es un titan, despues según se de una lección de tumor y regresar de esta forma es increíble-
Both seem really nice guys, well played and pity the final had to end that way
Vamos Opelka!.. 💪 a recuperarse. Felicitaciones Lehecka
I wish all who have suffered injuries to get well soon. So sad.
Definitely the same humble mode as federer and nadal good on you Riely Opelka
What a pity but great tournament for both!! Reily hopefully will be ok sooner than another 2 years!! 👏😅🥳
I think because Opelka is so huge, he is more prone to injuries... kind of like Del Potro
Lehecka speaks well. First time I heard him give a speech.
Opelka as a tall man is doing an -amazing- amount of athleticism the way hes pushed himself to not just be a big man, but like the greats only utilizing his height and not relying on it. John Isner and Karlovic etc even Raonic look like planted trees at the same level compared to what Opelka is pioneering himself out to do and make no mistake everyone knows hes lethal not injured, and has been. He crushed the new big man that alone for me was the final/win. Lehecka though is in some kind of phenomenal form what he's done to destroy really good players this guy could win a major like this or definitely place final.
What a bummer! Opelka was playing like he was on a mission
Opelka has had problems with wrist, he had that in SF against Perricard, I thought he was going to retire in that match. Now he had problems with back in final😢 I'm afraid that we are not going to see a lot of Opelka in the future. His body can't take this 🙁
He could pull out, but he continue, basically he had push his body beyond limit
Respect that but sometime we should know limit
Damn Auckland and Brisbane both ended in retirement. It sucks that so many players are getting injured so early in the season
What a sad ending.😢
Good job man❤
Lehecka reminds me of Thomas Berdych. ❤
A lot of people hauled out to view this final. Reilly should have called off the match for a walkover and saved people the trip.
Quite a few injuries/retirements at this tournament 🤕: Jordan Thompson, Grigor Dimitrov, and now Reilly Opelka.
Crazy amount of retirements in all tournaments over the tour.
Betting mafia. Control tennis matches
It's because the ATP schedule is too demanding. Go play Tennis for a few hours at high intensity, and then do it again for a week straight. Then onto the next tournament... it's crazy.
@@OmegaMouse none of these guys have played a tournament in quite a while. The retirements this week have nothing to do with the demanding schedule.
@@tdane5017 Why do you think they were injured in the first place? Last season was only a couple months ago. Are you saying ATP doesn't have a demanding schedule?
@ all pro sports have demanding schedules. Tennis is definitely more physical than in the past because no one comes to net anymore. Alcaraz played 52 matches last year. That’s not many. That’s like 4 per month. Zverev played the most out of anyone… I think he was in the mid 70’s. Sinner was low 60’s. Not that much over the course of a whole year. McEnroe was 82-3 in 1985 with crappy rackets and no traveling physio and terrible medical treatments available. Plus he played almost as many doubles matches per year. I think players are more prone to retire now than in the past. They just played through it and lost.
Opelka 😔, he was already fight until reach final 😞
Sad way to end a tourney like this. The match could be a potential contender for the shortest finals ever played. Remembered a final of ATP tour finals in which Fed was injured and he skipped. A one set exhibition was played between Murray and Djoko as a compensation.
Do the organizers give some compensation to the people having tickets ? Imagine spending a hundred or more dollars for the day and have it cut that short
Ouch I would be disappointed as well hundred's for a ticket wasted
This really sucks. I wish Opelka can recovery and play AO.
Opelka should have retired last match not in the final.. risking his spot in AO definitely wasnt a wise decision both financially and for his ranking
He made it to the final and didn’t give up against MPC
He also did not appear to be hampered there. At least not his back. But it's tough on the lower back for someone so tall
That was a pity!
Playing at this level is v hard on the body
Que lamemtable queria que ganara opelka😢
Oh no!!!! That’s unfortunate to win like that, and unfortunately to have to retire due to injury in a Final
Career riddled with injuries. Wish he could stay healthy. He's super dangerous when he's able to move around the court well.
Its a sad shame honestly because if Opelka played on level of every match beforehand, he would have won. Only hope is that this is more back than wrist and that he will be good for AO
It's not physically possible.
@@OmegaMouse In what way you mean?
@@mattiastennis Tall guys get injured often and it's difficult for them to make it deep in slams.
@@OmegaMouse Maybe 10 yrs ago this was kind of the case but not so much now and even so they are not always injured. All players need to work on now is proper strength lifting. There is better and more holistic recovery available. As for not making it deep I guarantee there is going to be a lot of tall players going deep into slams
He deserved the trophy.
After Dimitrov now Opelka 😢
At 6'11 Opelka shoul have played with the Golden State Warriors.They need bigs like hime😮
This is not fair to the audience. They need to make a new rule that allows the losers of the semifinal (Djokovic vs [in this case because of Dimitrov walkover] Jarry) to play and the winner of that to advance to play the final in cases like this!
We would like to see M'petschi
So many retirements this week
opelka reminds me of agassi, hitting hard and no strategy
Finaly Poland Back aginst USA. Gud luck Opleka another good USA Tennis Plyer along with Fritiz.
Honest question: Do paying spectators, get a Refund?
Nope
No… 🤷♂️
It’s a tough question
I think in some tournaments there is a rule that if there is 1 hour of play before rain or something starts then you dont get refund. Here the match was 15 minutes. In my opinion specators should get refund. For sure most of them were there to see the singles match and not the doubles.
They get coffee
sorry OP! get well soon, tennis or no tennis, be healthy 😊
Couple of gentlemen, nice words
Opelka retires in Brisbane and Osaka retires in Auckland, so strange… It’s like there’s something in the air😅 Hope everyone’s okay for the AO!!!
Reilly gets hurt getting out of bed , absolutely heartbreaking, unfortunately this is what 7 ft looks like playing professional Tennis, The body can’t take it on the ATP Tour ! 6’6 is a out the cut off for being able to hold up unfortunately.. 6’1 is about the best height for speed, power , longevity
Want to see opelka in this form in ao he and perricard are looking dangerous
A back injury will be hard to recover from the rest of the week
Opelka is already out at the AO, if he participates, he's out at the 1st round without any doubt. Perricard, out at the latest at 3rd round
This is why his win over Novak really meant nothing.. I like Opelka but he is always going to have a much easier time playing best of 3 and even that isn't a guarantee that his body will hold up for the whole event...don't even get me started on best of 5. He may have better groundies than Karlovic or Isner, but his game is much more grueling on his body and I'm sure he already has more injury hiatus than the other two in their careers..
Yeah, these big guys are and X factor. You don't want to run into one too early, but they always get injured. Tennis is not for tall people. They can have a few great games, but never consistent.
I really like this guy and he played amazing vs Novak but the first thing I thought about was how long his body (giant frame) going withstand that level of punishment. Guess we found out. Sucks for him and its disappointing but not unexpected.
The french man can have some regrets
Damn! 🥺I was worried about this.
Idk if he’ll do well in a grand slam playing 5setters … I see him doing well in grass. Or indoor. But again not sure how sustainable his game is.
Opelka hizo un gran torneo le falta fisico esperemos se mejore
Shame for the few who actually paid for the ticket with hard earned money.
Is it time to evaluate the impact of surfaces on players?
Expensive ticket for 30 min 😅
Opelka 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢
What was the average costs of the tickets? Is anyone know?
Nice words from Jiri considering Opelka was forced to retire. But an exciting tournament nonetheless
Sucks when you're hampered by injuries so much
The spectators that spent big bucks to see the final must be super bummed
Poor Reilly Humble Lion
Thanks for the highlights, but why do you have to spoil the result in the title and thumbnail? Frustrating!
This is the only way I said he could lose. And I'm sorry it happened.
Reilly in Brisbane and Naomi in Auckland, are we seeing more players stopping with injuries these days?
Damn those injuries
Opelka gentil garçon
WHAT'S THE POINT OF ANNOUNCING THE OUTCOME I THE TITLE??
Because there wasn't much tennis to watch anyway?? The guy retired pretty early in the match.
@@ada5851 point taken..
Oh shuts! I was rooting for him since despite the fact he took Djokovic out of the tournament
You see who ever beat Joker that’s was satisfied enough
Because of injury like that or other injuries, theres so many what ifs in sports
Gambling mafia controls the matches
what racket opelka?
What a shame. Poor Reilly
Opelka your SPORT Is the basket. Please a Lot of people don't like ace , ace and ace. Take a long time to recover You. Thanks