Not Venus or Serena Williams, 25-Year-Old American Star Claims This Duo to Be His Sole Inspiration for Picking Up a Racquet – ”Wouldn’t Be Playing Tennis…”

Published 12/14/2022, 1:32 PM EST

Reilly Opelka posted an Instagram story to pay tribute to two tennis legends who inspired him to play tennis. The American ATP professional reposted an Instagram post by @goldenageoftennis featuring the twins. After Reilly’s recent social media debacles, it is refreshing to see him reminisce about why he picked up a racquet. Hopefully, unlike Reilly’s usual social media posts, these will not be a topic of controversy among tennis fans.

Opelka’s idols are a champion duo, much like Venus and Serena Williams. The two played for the USA and later went on to coach renowned players like Agassi and Sampras.

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Who inspired Reilly Opelka to play professional tennis?

Reilly Opelka recently took to his Instagram stories to reminisce about an emotional moment. The tennis star reshared a picture of Timothy Gullikson and Tom Gullikson on his Instagram account and captioned it, “Wouldn’t be playing tennis if it weren’t for these two”.

Earlier, Opelka shared how Venus Williams is an inspiration to him. Although that only heightened their dating rumors, he did not back down from his genuine compliments about the dynamic tennis legend. Today, he took to remembering the tennis stars of the late 1970s and early 1980s- the Gullikson brothers.

Both Tim and Tom were phenomenal players, whether it was singles or double matches. However, the day’s hot topic was their partnership, which brought the US 15 top-level double titles. The duo holds a career-high ranking of world no. 3 and 4 in doubles.

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Timothy Gullikson was also felicitated by the ATP with the title ‘Newcomer of the Year’. He has a career-high ranking of world no. 15 in singles. Tom has a career-high ranking of no. 34 in singles and one Grand Slam to his name.

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Both these players had retired before Opelka was born. Tim started coaching players like Martina Navratilova and Pete Sampras after his retirement. From 1992 to 1995, Gullikson coached Sampras into holding his career-high ranking of no.1 and winning four Grand Slam singles. Tim Gullikson was diagnosed with brain cancer in 1995 and passed away in 1996. During this time, Tom Gullikson was the US Davis Cup captain and the US Tennis team coach to the Olympics.

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Considering such achievements on the ATP Tour, it isn’t surprising that they have inspired youngsters like Opelka to pursue a career in the sport.

Watch this story: Four Days After Their Special Date, Alexis Ohanian Pens Down an Emotional Note of Wife Serena Williams

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Written by:

Annesha Banerjee is a Tennis writer at EssentiallySports. She is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s in English. Her love for tennis and other sports is influenced by her mother, who was a remarkable athlete back in the day.

Edited by:

Tony Thomas

Not Venus or Serena Williams, 25-Year-Old American Star Claims This Duo to Be His Sole Inspiration for Picking Up a Racquet – ”Wouldn’t Be Playing Tennis…”

Who inspired Reilly Opelka to play professional tennis?

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