American tennis is gearing up for a great opportunity at the Olympics this summer, with a whole host of talent that will feel confident about their chances of achieving silverware.
However, such is the level of quality they are taking to Paris, equally, there are plenty of stars that have been left behind, whether it be due to injury or a supposed lack of quality.
Ben Shelton missing the Olympics is one outstanding absentee, but another who might have been forgotten altogether is Reilly Opelka.
Currently ranked 430th in the world, he never stood a chance at going to Paris, but his absence from the sport was through no fault of his own.
Tracy Austin is really excited for one American player
Speaking on the Tennis Channel Live podcast, Tracy Austin was enlisted to give her opinion on all things tennis.
As a former world number one, she knows all about being around the pinnacle of the sport, and thus can speak with intelligence and insight about the goings on within the tennis world.
However, speaking about one compatriot in particular, she was left really excited for his future after seemingly overcoming what she described as a ‘weird’ injury.
Austin said about Opelka: ‘The fact that he is healthy, that’s his big goal right now. Just to play a complete season with that serve, you can’t teach tall or those aces. I’m really excited for him. When you hear that he is going to retire with that much talent, a guy who was already in the top 20, he has dealt with so many injuries and it was a strange injury, a benign tumour in his hip, that’s just weird so I’m really excited for Reilly and he can build on this.’
Reilly Opelka is enjoying a stunning tennis comeback
Opelka’s story in tennis is an interesting one, having truly begun when he won the Wimbledon boys championships in 2015, beating Taylor Fritz on his way to the final.
Shooting himself into stardom as a youngster, his career steadily built as he developed, winning a handful of titles and even reaching a career-high ranking of 17th in the world.
It all seemed to be going so well for the 6 foot 11 monster, who even reached a Masters 1000 event final, before enduring a gruelling two-year hiatus from the sport due to injuries.
Enduring two separate surgeries during that period, his progress was shattered, and it was set to take something really special to get him back to where he once was.
Well, he has already begun on that road to redemption in the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, reaching the semi-finals in his first ATP tournament back.
Should he avoid any more injury setbacks, the 26-year-old has more than enough time to get his career back on track and justify Austin’s praise.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
