Practice makes perfect on the ATP Tour as players put in the work in training to maximise their potential.
When they’re not competing in tournaments or travelling between them, players are usually found on the practice courts, perfecting their craft.
After losing his third-round match in Cincinnati, Joao Fonseca was seen training at the facilities for several days, as he continues to work hard in the build-up to the US Open.
When practising, players either work with their coaches or other players on the ATP Tour, as they look to simulate match conditions.
Finding the right player to practice with can be difficult, as Steve Johnson, a former top 30 player, has now named the worst training partner he encountered during his career.
Steve Johnson says Reilly Opelka is the worst practice partner on tour
During the latest episode of ‘Nothing Major’, Johnson was asked to name the worst practice partner he had worked with.
“Probably Reilly Opelka, quite frankly. Reilly is a bad one,” he said.
“He is great fellowship out there, but unlike John [Isner], he would go full bot mode in practice.
“John, I will reiterate this, good practice partner. He was not going to go full out on the serve, great rhythm on the ground, you could get a really good practice with John, no questions asked.
“But Reilly does it the right way for him. He will go two first serves, his 74 unforced errors, and 80 winners in practice.
“You just have no idea what you are going to get. So sometimes Reilly was a tough one.
“He practiced the right way for him, for sure, but it was a tough practice for an hour because you never really felt like you got your side out of it.”
Opelka, standing at 6ft 11 inches tall, is one of the biggest servers in the men’s game and has been called a ‘serve bot’ on several occasions.
Overpowering players with his serve in matches and in training, Opelka has proven to be a tricky customer over the years.
However, it was Johnson who prevailed in their sole ATP encounter, defeating Opelka at the Eastbourne International in 2019.
For all his frustrations in training with Opelka, Johnson had the last laugh, ‘winning’ their head-to-head.
While Johnson retired from tennis in 2024, Opelka continues to compete on the ATP Tour and is currently ranked inside the world’s top 100.
But how does Opelka’s serve compare to the other power players on tour?
Where does Reilly Opelka rank among the best ATP servers?
Highly regarded as one of the best servers of his generation, Opelka continues to do damage in 2025.
Over the past 12 months, the American ranks in the top ten for ‘Serve rating’, a composite measure.
| Rank | Name | Serve rating | 1st Serve % | % 1st Serve points won | % 2nd Serve points won | % Service games won | Average aces/match | Average double faults/match |
| 1 | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | 296.0 | 63.8% | 78.7% | 53.6% | 89.4% | 15.6 | 5.1 |
| 2 | Taylor Fritz | 295.3 | 63.5% | 79.2% | 54.6% | 89.1% | 10.9 | 2.0 |
| 3 | Jannik Sinner | 295.3 | 60.4% | 78.3% | 59.6% | 91.2% | 7.4 | 1.6 |
| 4 | Alexander Zverev | 249.9 | 69.9% | 76.0% | 54.5% | 88.5% | 8.4 | 2.4 |
| 5 | Ben Shelton | 293.7 | 65.5% | 76.0% | 56.3% | 89.3% | 9.7 | 3.1 |
| 6 | Reilly Opelka | 292.7 | 62.2% | 78.8% | 51.1% | 88.5% | 16.2 | 4.1 |
| 7 | Novak Djokovic | 291.5 | 66.1% | 76.6% | 54.9% | 88.4% | 7.8 | 2.3 |
| 8 | Matteo Berrettini | 290.1 | 67.7% | 76.0% | 51.7% | 86.0% | 10.3 | 1.6 |
| 9 | Hubert Hurkacz | 287.4 | 62.3% | 76.7% | 52.7% | 86.2% | 11.2 | 1.7 |
| 10 | Brandon Nakashima | 287.2 | 66.0% | 74.4% | 53.8% | 85.5% | 8.6 | 1.1 |
Opelka currently sits sixth in the ‘Serve rating’ rankings, but unsurprisingly tops the acing leaderboard.
Hitting an average of 16.2 aces per match, Opelka leads Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Jakub Mensik on 15.6 and 14.0, respectively.
His fellow ATP stars may not enjoy training with him, but the practice is clearly paying off for Opelka.
The big-serving American is scheduled to return to action at the US Open, which begins on Sunday, August 24.
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