(VIDEO) "Worst umpire on tour" – Reilly Opelka blasts Greg Allensworth after Dallas Open incident

Monday, 25 August 2025 at 10:04

Reilly Opelka booked his place in the third round of the Dallas Open after a hard-fought victory over Britain's Cameron Norrie.

The match was highly competitive, lasting over two and a half hours, with both players showing strong serving games. The contest was filled with long rallies and momentum swings, making it a battle that could have gone either way.

Norrie started strong, taking the first set 6-4, but Opelka fought back in the second set, forcing a tie-break and edging it 7-6(5). In the decisive third set, Opelka held his nerve to break his opponent and close the match 6-4.

With this gritty win, Opelka now moves on to face Tommy Paul in the next round. However, the match is being talked about more for his heated confrontation with chair umpire Greg Allensworth.

The controversial incident

During the match, a spectator disrupted Opelka while he was serving, shouting loudly, which caused a visible reaction from the American. Frustrated by the repeated interruptions, he lashed out at the fan:

"You doing it on fu*ng purpose or what? Go the fk inside, buddy."

The chair umpire, Greg Allensworth, issued a penalty to Opelka for the outburst, which sparked a heated exchangebetween the two. Opelka argued his case, insisting the umpire had failed to control the crowd properly, but Allensworth stood firm on his decision.

After the match, Opelka did not hold back in his criticism of the umpire.

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"Greg Allensworth was the worst ref in the institute, as we were talking about in the locker room with all the players. It's a coincidence, like literally two days ago. Definitely like the worst umpire on tour. He almost changed the outcome of that match just because he doesn't know what he's doing."

Opelka accuses Allensworth of failing to do his job

Rilley Opelka

Opelka continued to vent his frustrations, accusing the umpire of letting the situation escalate unnecessarily.

"He got emotional when we were arguing, and he got intense and frantic. He couldn't give me an answer. 'You didn't tell that guy to shut up. He was doing it for like three points.' He didn't do his job, so I had to tell him to get out of here.

"The guy was being quite rude; I'm all for whatever, but if you want to come here to be an a**hole, then I'm gonna be one back. And then if the ref isn't doing his job and he penalises me, not a good look."

Opelka believes Allensworth’s actions could have impacted the match's outcome, stating that his lack of control over the crowd and poor decision-making were unacceptable.

What’s next for Opelka?

Despite the controversy, Opelka remains one of the standout performers in the tournament, showing his dominant service game and strong mental resilience.

A fan was bothering Reilly Opelka during his service motion, Opelka responded and was given a point violation…

He’d end up holding and winning the match but this feels like a very poor job of umpiring pic.twitter.com/s05wSstKJ0
— Barstool Tennis (@StoolTennis) February 7, 2025

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

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