CNN
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Billionaire Bill Ackman and the organizers of the tennis tournament were heavily criticized by former Grand Slam champions and social media after the hedge fund manager made his professional tennis debut.
Ackman, who has a prominent social media presence at X, played in men’s doubles with Jack Sock, the three-time Grand Slam doubles doubles champion at The Hall of Fame Open.
The 59-year-old and socks were significantly out of reach by their Australian opponents, finishing second on almost every statistical scale of the match in Newport, Rhode Island.
Ackman was invited to Sock, who had received a wildcard entry for the tournament, a WTA 125 event, to join the ATP Challenger tour.
Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management and with a personal net worth of $9.5 billion according to Forbes, said playing professional tennis is a dream.
“I feel like it probably ended in one thing,” Ackman said afterwards, according to the New York Times. “But I have thought of something in my life that seemed fair.”
On social media, Ackman called the whole experience “very humble” and detailed the “stage horror” he felt he was performing on a professional stage.
“I can talk to a wide range of topics in front of a thousand audiences, or in a TV studio without preparation or fear, but yesterday I had my first real experience with stage horror,” Ackman wrote in X.
“I found myself on the tennis court in a live streaming professional tournament with hundreds of people in the crowd. During the match, my wrists, arms and body literally frozen with the negative outcomes I expected. It was difficult to breathe and not a fitness issue.
His appearance is etched from Ackman’s lifelong goals, but his foray into professional tennis met ris from sports fans, including journalists and former professionals.
Former world No. 1 Andy Roddick is extremely important, highlighting his own involvement in the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the organization’s role in sports.
“Bill Ackman, a massive tennis fan and supporter, wanted to fund the PTPA (Professional Tennis Players Association) and play pro tournaments. “I don’t give wild cards to people who have 50 players in my club that are good.
“This was a complete mistake. Now, the Hall of Fame work is to maintain and celebrate the excellence of our sport. This was the biggest joke I’ve seen in professional tennis.”
When contacted by CNN Sports, ATP pointed to the wildcard rule, saying the tournament “may not receive rewards and players may not provide compensation in exchange for awarding wildcards.”
CNN Sports contacted Pershing Square Capital Management to provide Ackman with the right to reply. CNN Sports also reached out to Sock, International Tennis Hall of Fame and the WTA for comments.
Roddick also questioned the level of effort of the players involved, with the exception of Ackman, and said that the match should be reviewed due to the obvious lack of competitiveness.
“There was one person in that court who tried as hard as they could,” he said. “If you want to argue with me, go back and watch that video. And you can’t say that there are people who are working as hard as they are in every point or every point. It was a disaster.”
On social media, Ackman wrote that “the competition was clearly restrained,” and that “it took me too long to think about it, which made it even more difficult.”
CNN Sports contacted Jasika and Tomic via Tennis Australia for comments.
18-time Grand Slam singles champion Martinana Vlatirova put a strong emphasis on Ackman’s involvement and said, “It seems you can buy your own wildcards. Be confident…”
Tennis journalist John Welheim also criticised the hedge fund manager’s appearance at the tournament, writing to X:
