Reilly Opelka says what he really thinks of Ben Shelton, Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Zverev

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Reilly Opelka continues his surge toward the top 100 in 2025, having returned from an extended hiatus last year.

The world number 104 began his year in great form in Brisbane, as Opelka beat Novak Djokovic on his way to the final.

Failing in his bid to win a fourth tour-level title, the 27-year-old retired injured while 1-4 down against Jiri Lehecka.

Heading back to America, Opelka won just five of his next nine matches on the ATP Tour, struggling against players ranked above him.

Ahead of his return to action on clay, Opelka took the time to share his thoughts on the serving abilities of his fellow tennis stars.

Reilly Opelka reveals whether he thinks Ben Shelton, Nick Kyrgios, and Alexander Zverev are ‘Serve-bots’

Appearing as a guest on the Nothing Major podcast, Opelka was given a list of names and was asked whether he considers them to be ‘Serve-bots’ or not.

• Alexander Zverev

“Total bot,” said Opelka.

“[Alexander] Zverev, people watch him just because he is so good and he competes like an absolute dog.

“One of the best competitors I have ever seen.

“But I don’t know if he wasn’t number two in the world, if he was 12 in the world, is he selling as many tickets?

“I don’t know.”

• Ben Shelton

“Bot,” he said.

“Ben [Shelton] is tough, though, because he’s not miserable to watch.”

• Milos Raonic

“Bot,” said Opelka.

Opelka was keen to expand on his answer when asked for his thoughts on Australia’s Nick Kyrgios.

“Him and Ben, with them there needs to be a separate category,” he said.

“They’re like a bootleg bot, but in a good way.

“They serve incredibly well, and if they take that away from them that’s 90% of their game but they sell a bunch of tickets.”

• Daniil Medvedev

“Not a bot,” he said.

“When Med was number one in the world, he was a bot; that was what made [Daniil] Medvedev so brutal.

“He would hold serve just as fast as me, John [Isner] or Nick [Kyrgios], but his return games, he could drag them out against me.

“I would feel like I was holding serve in 10 minutes, if I was even holding, and he was holding in 60 seconds.”

Which of the players Reilly Opelka named has hit the most aces on the ATP Tour?

Serve-bots are often given that title for the number of aces they hit during matches, breezing through service games in a matter of minutes.

Several players Opelka mentioned rank inside the top 50 for all-time aces on the ATP Tour.

Canada’s Milos Raonic leads the way, currently ranked inside the all-time top ten, thanks to his impressive tally of 8,445 aces.

The former Wimbledon finalist hasn’t appeared since last year’s Olympics but would still strike fear into any opponent should he return to the tour.

22-year-old Shelton is yet to break into the top 200 in the all-time list but is certainly on track to do so and would gladly pass his dad, Bryan Shelton, along the way, who currently sits in 190th place with 1,792 aces.

As tennis moves onto the clay for the next few months, ace counts will likely slow down, before picking up once more on the grass and hard courts during the latter stages of the 2025 season.

Opelka, Shelton, Zverev, Kyrgios, Medvedev, and even Raonic could look to make some real noise at Wimbledon when the tournament kicks off on Monday, June 30.