Opelka's mockery couldn't save him from another loss a disappointing

America’s Reilly Opelka mocked his opponent during a challenger event. The 27-year-old, who was once regarded as one of the most talented American player playing in the men’s singles category, has recently participated in an ATP Challengers event in Charlottesville where he was knocked out from the second round after losing to fellow American Colton Smith in the second round with a score of 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.

A video surfaced on the social media platform X — previously known as Twitter — in which Opelka can be seen mocking his opponent. However, that was not enough to distract his opponent, who ended up on the losing side. The defeat on Thursday was another indication that the St. Joseph-born is still far from the best.

The former world number 17, who has struggled with fitness concerns over the years and nearly missed two years of action in order to regain full fitness, has only returned to the court earlier this year. From then till now, Opelka has only played 15 matches this year where he has only managed to win six matches and suffered nine defeats in the process. His best performance this year came in the Infosys Hall of Fame in July where he ended up playing in the semifinal.

His journey, however, came to an end as he lost to fellow American Alex Michelsen in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-0. His most recent appearance in an ATP senior level event was in the Shanghai Masters where he was knocked out after losing to France’s Arthur Rinderknech in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 7-6.. Opelka, who stayed out of action for nearly two years, has played in only one Grand Slam this year, which was the US Open where he lost to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti with a score fo 7-6, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5.