Reilly Opelka has revealed what it is really like to be trained by Andre Agassi at the 2025 Laver Cup.
Agassi is the new Team World captain for the 2025 Laver Cup, taking over John McEnroe’s seven-year tenure between 2017 and 2024.
Team Europe are the Laver Cup favourites against Team World as the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev will collide with Taylor Fritz and Alex De Minaur.
Ahead of the much-anticipated eighth Laver Cup, American Reilly Opelka has revealed what it’s like to work under Andre Agassi.
Reilly Opelka praises ‘incredibly nice’ Andre Agassi at the Laver Cup
The giant American was full of praise for his Laver Cup captain ahead of the tournament kicking off on September 19.
“Andre is such a legend of the game. You always hear so much about him. The consensus is he’s just this incredibly nice human being and incredibly intelligent,” said Opelka at the Laver Cup press conference.
The World No. 62 revealed how he’d heard good things from other American tennis players from previous training camps with Agassi.
“I was always jealous because Tommy Paul and Frances got to hang with him when they were younger in Vegas, and he had them out for a training camp,” revealed Opelka.
Opelka revealed that Agassi was always open to spending time with rising American stars in the sport.
“I mean, the story pretty much was I think the USTA was looking to send a group of young guys to train with some of the guys,” said the American.
“I think they called and put some feelers out to some other legendary American players. I don’t know if the price was right. I think Andre did it for free and spent two weeks with Tommy and Frances and all the guys.
“I think that kind of sums up my experience with Andre as best you can. He gives back to the game and is happy to spread knowledge. Yeah, he’s just been a great asset for tennis and especially American tennis.”
Opelka begins his Laver Cup campaign with a singles match against Casper Ruud in the opening contest of the tournament.
Andre Agassi already calls for a change in the Laver Cup format
Despite not yet making his debut as a Laver Cup captain, Agassi has already suggested a tweak to the format.
The eight-time Grand Slam champion believes the Laver Cup should be a longer set format rather than the best-of-three, with a championship tiebreak.
“However, I would have preferred a longer format, right?,” said Agassi while on Andy Roddick’s Served podcast ahead of the Laver Cup.
“Because my game was designed on sort of putting together a narrative and a tapestry, and with the one-set tiebreak, I think that might’ve added a little stress element for me, too.”
The Laver Cup has used a championship tiebreak format since the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2017.
