Reilly Opelka news: American to raise money at Miami Open for spinal cord charity
World No 18 Reilly Opelka has announced he’s going to be donating money to a spinal cord charity throughout the Miami Open, and he’s already got other players on the tour to join in as well.
The American has pledged to donate $100 to spinal cord research charity Wings for Life for every ace he hits throughout the competition, and given he’s hit more aces than any other player on the ATP Tour this season with 344 over 18 matches, it seems like he’ll raise a lot of funds.
He announced this act of goodwill for the charity which funds scientific research and clinical trials to try and find a cure for spinal cord damage on a video on social media.
Greek player and world No 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas, Brit Cameron Norrie and 24-year-old Tommy Paul have also agreed to donate money to the charity during the Miami based tournament, and both Opelka and Tsitsipas are playing in the singles and doubles competitions which sweetens the deal even more.
In terms of their recent form to predict how far these players might progress in the Miami Open, Opelka made it to the final of the Delray Beach Open before he was beaten by Norrie who took the title, however the American won the Dallas Open the week before.
On top of his win in Florida, Norrie reached the quarter finals at the Indian Wells Masters and got to the final of the Mexican Open where he got beat by world No 3 Rafael Nadal.
French Open finalist Tsitsipas bowed out during the semi finals at the Mexican Open where he was beaten by Norrie and he made it to the same stage during the Australian Open, while Paul reached the semi-final of the Delray Beach Open, and the quarter final stage at the Mexican Open.
By the look of their previous performances this year, they’re going to raise a lot of money at the competition.
The ATP Miami Open gets underway from March 23.