Indian Wells
Sinner & Opelka doubles reunion: World No. 2 reveals who asked who
Wild-card duo takes on top seeds Granollers/Zeballos on Monday
March 09, 2026
ATP
Jannik Sinner and Reilly Opelka won the Atlanta title together in 2021.
By ATP Staff
The BNP Paribas Open always attracts a star-studded doubles field, with singles players often joining in on the fun in Indian Wells.
One of the marquee duos in this year’s draw is Jannik Sinner and Reilly Opelka, who previously teamed to win the 2021 Atlanta title. Nearly five years later, Sinner revealed he was the one who reached out to the American to reunite their partnership.
“I like to play doubles with someone I feel very comfortable with off the court, because I need to have fun when I play doubles,” the No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings said in a Tennis Channel interview. “We have a lot of attention and tension while we play singles, so doubles helps us to work on a couple of things and trying also to relax. Also to not lose this match feeling is good.”
Sinner and Opelka will have their hands full in their opening match Monday, with top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos across the net. Ranked No. 3 and No. 2 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings, respectively, Granollers and Zeballos have reached the Australian Open semi-finals and the Dallas final this season.
Sinner’s singles campaign in the desert is off to a strong start, with the Italian losing just seven games in beating Dalibor Svrcina and Denis Shapovalov en route to the last 16. Opelka beat Ethan Quinn in the opening round before losing to another American, Ben Shelton, in three sets on Friday.
While the singles stars will be more relaxed on the doubles court, their competitive nature will have them eager to pull off the upset against the top seeds. Sinner may not feel pressure about the result, but he knows he needs to do his part to capitalise on Opelka’s big serving.
“If he will drop serve in doubles, it’s my fault,” Sinner joked. “Bad hands at the net!”
