The public is invited to the Palm Coast Tennis Center this Friday (Sept. 18), from 11 a.m. to noon, to welcome home 2015 Wimbledon Junior tennis champion Reilly Opelka. The Tennis Center is located at 1290 Belle Terre Pkwy.
Opelka, who just turned 18, will be on-hand for photos and autographs, and the “Palm Coast proud” sign created during the Wimbledon tournament and signed by numerous local residents will be presented to him. Opelka won the Boys’ Singles tournament at Wimbledon in July. He qualified for the main draw of the U.S. Open doubles championship and was eliminated in the first round, and was eliminated in the third round of the juniors championship at the open on Sept. 9 after two impressive matches. He’d also made it to the quarterfinals at Rolland Garros, the French Open, in June, part of his most successful year on the tennis tour.
Opelka turned professional in May but was allowed to keep competing in the junior circuit until his 18th birthday.
At the U.S. Open earlier this month, he caught the attention of Mary Carillo, the long-time tennis announcer for CBS and ESPN, who also met his parents.
“What a great, great family they are,” Carillo told FlaglerLive. “They’re not tennis parents, which is so refreshing, and I found Reilly to be really down-to-earth, a really nice kid. And in meeting his parents, I understood why. I really like his future.”
A Palm Coast resident who trains in South Florida, Opelka has been a tennis player since he was 5. In January, he competed in the USTA Pro Circuit Men’s Futures Tournament at the Palm Coast Tennis Center. The 6-foot 11-inch tall player is the son of George and Lynne Opelka, who are Palm Coast residents.
For more information, contact Cindi Lane, Communications & Marketing Manager, at 386-986-3708 or [email protected].
