The Rules of Tennis
Reilly Opelka was fined $10,000 for carrying a pink bag onto the court before his second round US Open match against Lorezo Musetti. The problem wasn’t the color, but rather a logo which was determined to be too large. Opelka joked about the fine on Twitter on Friday, writing “US Open ticket sales must be strugglin this year.”
The Grand Slam Rulebook contains a length section on “Dress and Equipment” that establishes limitations on commercial identifications on equipment bags.
Tennis Equipment Manufacturer’s Bag, Other Equipment or Paraphernalia
The Official Grand Slam Rule Book, Article III.C.2.f
Tennis equipment manufacturer’s identifications on each item plus two (2) separate commercial identifications on one (1) tennis equipment manufacturer’s bag, neither of which commercial identifications exceeds four (4) square inches (26 sq.cm), shall be permitted.
Opelka later posted a picture in Instagram that contained a good picture of the offending bag. Apparently the logo in question exceeds 4 square inches.
The logo on the bag is for an contemporary art gallery in Belgium. Opelka announced his commercial partnership with the gallery earlier this year in Instagram. In fact, the fact that Opelka endorses an art gallery might be the most surprising part of the whole story.
- American Reilly Opelka calls $10,000 fine for unapproved bag ‘a joke’ after advancing at US Open, D’Arcy Main, ESPN, September 4, 2021.
- Official Grand Slam Rule Book, International Tennis Federation, 2021.
