Reilly Opelka commented on the departure of the public after the semifinal between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, just when the men's doubles final was about to be played at BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells
The American has spoken in recent days about his dissatisfaction with the doubles category and the lack of interest it generates among fans from his point of view.
On Saturday, the semifinal between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner was played in a great match with a full stadium in California. After the match between the young players, the men's doubles final was scheduled between the pair of Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski (world No. 1 and 2) against Rohan Bopanna with Mathew Ebden (world No. 15 and 37).
Opelka had previously said that doubles should be eliminated in tennis because it does not generate interest among fans, and this time he shared an image of the few people who stayed in the stadium to watch the doubles match: "Stadium cleared out quick after Alcaraz/Sinner match," said Opelka.
The men's doubles final saw the defeat of the favorites and marked a milestone with the trophy won by Bopanna, who became the oldest player in history to win a Masters 1000 title at 43 years old.