A routine second-round match at the Dallas Open between Reilly Opelka and Cameron Norrie turned into the talk of the tournament when chair umpire Greg Allensworth intervened at a crucial moment.
Who’s right and who’s wrong? We’ll let you be the judge.
Setting the scene
Reilly Opelka and Cam Norrie were battling it out on the Grandstand. They split the first two sets and Opelka was up a break in the third and trying to serve out the match at 5-4 to earn his spot in the quarterfinals.
The obnoxious fan
According to Opelka in the press-conference video below, a heckler kept calling out to him and fake coughing as a distraction before hiding behind a pole. Finally at 30-30 after the fan interrupted his service motion, Opelka lost his temper, turned to the heckler and told him multiple times to get the [expletive] out. (Spoiler: he WAS kicked out).
Umpire interference and a point penalty
Here’s where the fireworks started in earnest. Instead of addressing the fan, chair umpire Greg Allensworth issued a code violation and point penalty to Opelka for profanity. Indignant, the American strode over to the chair to express his…frustration with Allensworth’s decision making. The crowd agreed with Opelka and expressed their own displeasure over the umpire’s ruling. A heated exchange between the two men also led to Opelka speaking with the tournament supervisor.
It’s important to keep in mind that the score was 5-4, 30-30 at the time of the heckling–which means the point penalty set up BREAK POINT when Opelka was serving for the match. I can only imagine what would have transpired if Norrie had actually broken after all that (he didn’t, to the crowds raucous delight).
Why did Opelka call Greg Allensworth the worst ref in the ATP?
This is not Allensworth’s first Controversy Rodeo. In fact in 2024 alone he went on a legitimate traveling circus of controversial and missed calls:
- Indian Wells: Novak Djokovic vs. Luca Nardi
- Trigger – Nardi stopped playing a point and looped it over the net at the last moment
- Controversy – Djokovic claimed the unorthodox action was distracting and should be a hinderance. Allensworth was unmoved
- Outcome – Nardi won the match
- Washington, D.C: Ben Shelton vs. Denis Shapovalov
- Trigger – during the second-set tiebreaker, Shapovalov had an interaction with a fan not unlike Opelka’s in Dallas
- Controversy – Shapo received a code violation followed by a default for the Canadian. Shelton advocated for Shapovalov but Allensworth was unmoved
- Outcome – Shapovalov appealed and the ATP sided with him, permitting him to keep his prize money and ranking points
- Cincinnati: Taylor Fritz vs. Brandon Nakashima
- Trigger – Malfunctioning line calling equipment on a serve by Nakashima that was clearly out, but which Allensworth did not immediately identify
- Controversy – Allensworth eventually called the serve out and ordered the players to replay the point. Fritz took issue with the late call.
- Outcome – A rattled Fritz won that set but lost the match
- Cincinnati (AGAIN): Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Jack Draper
- Trigger: On match point, Draper hit a shot that Allensworth judged to be a winner, but which Felix claimed had bounced on Draper’s side of the net twice
- Controversy – Allensworth stuck to his initial decision and awarded the point to Draper
- Outcome – Felix lost the round of 16 match. It was later determined that Allensworth was wrong and the ball did, in fact, bounce twice on Draper’s side of the net
The latest incident brings up a number of issues. Should a player be penalized for using profanity at a “fan” if the fan is so clearly in the wrong that he or she gets kicked out of the venue? Does it matter when the incident happens, such as at 5-4, 30-30 in the final set? And should Opelka be fined for his comments, as would a player in any major league like the NBA, NFL, or MLB for berating an official?
So, what say you? Is Opelka right or wrong?
outrageous scenes