Developing Reilly Opelka from Ages 13 to 21: Vision & Drills

Key Points

• Setting up baseline games where Reilly couldn’t use his serve helped develop the rest of his game and learn how to win without the serve
• Recognizing that Reilly would be very tall was important in helping develop a game style that suited his height
• Closed drills allow players to repeat the same movement over and over; the more you open the drill, the less repetition you get
• Isolating and then combining movement drills that incorporated moving forward and back, side to side and diagonally helped Reilly develop his footwork and movement skills
• Developing a backhand with more loop on the takeback was important to generate that spin and rotation needed to play on the men's pro tour