Invoice Ackman’s foray into skilled tennis was met with widespread ridicule from legends Andy Roddick and Martina Navratilova after the billionaire finagled his approach right into a doubles match on the hallowed grounds of the Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame.
The 59-year-old hedge fund titan — a talented newbie who additionally occurs to boast a fortune valued by Forbes at $9.5 billion — teamed up with just lately retired ATP professional Jack Sock on the 2025 Corridor of Fame Open in Newport, RI.
The pair had been shortly dispatched in straight units by energetic professionals Bernard Tomic and Omar Jasika in straight units in Wednesday’s first spherical of the doubles draw. The youthful Aussies received 6-1, 7-5 in 67 minutes.
“A disaster,” former US Open champion Roddick stated of the match, including that it was “the biggest joke I’ve ever watched in professional tennis.”
Navratilova, who received a complete of 59 Grand Slam titles in each, weighed in as nicely, posting on social media: “Apparently you can buy yourself a wild card. Oh to have the confidence…”
Ackman, founding father of Pershing Sq. Capital Administration, was capable of get into the match due to a “wildcard” system that enables entry to gamers who would in any other case not qualify based mostly on rankings or {qualifications}.
Critics argued that Ackman’s inclusion, enabled by his wealth and affect reasonably than advantage, undermines the aim of the system.
Randy Walker, the match director, didn’t mince phrases, calling it “the absolute worst tennis match I have ever seen.”
He criticized the choice to grant Ackman a wildcard, saying it had not been earned by means of talent or contribution to the sport.
Ackman, a prolific social media consumer, didn’t adress the ciriticism in a prolonged submit on X.
“It was a very humbling experience that gives one even more respect for the pros who play for a living in front of the cameras and the crowds,” he wrote Thursday.
He attributed his poor efficiency to a sudden bout of “stage fright.”
“I can speak in front of an audience of a thousand people or in a TV studio on a broad range of topics without any preparation and without a twinge of fear, but yesterday I had my first real experience with stage fright,” he wrote.
“I found myself on a tennis court in a live-streamed professional tournament with a few hundred in the crowd. Throughout the match, my wrist, arm and body literally froze with the expected negative outcomes. I had difficulty breathing, and it was not a fitness issue. It got a bit better as the match progressed, but I was not able to overcome it.”
Ackman’s rep instructed The Submit: “We don’t have anything more to add right now.”
The backlash over Ackman’s look prolonged past former gamers.
Veteran tennis journalist Jon Wertheim referred to as it “wildly inappropriate and lacking in integrity,” particularly given the match passed off at a sanctioned occasion that provides rating factors and prize cash.
Wertheim famous the irony that Ackman is a serious monetary supporter of the Skilled Tennis Gamers Affiliation (PTPA), a corporation devoted to increasing skilled alternatives for tennis gamers.
Followers and social media customers additionally voiced disapproval, with many describing Ackman’s look as a “mockery” and a “publicity stunt.”
Glenn Greenwald, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and avid tennis fan, slammed Ackman on X, writing that he “used his vast wealth to worm his way into a professional, ATP-sanctioned tennis tournament at the Hall of Fame at the age of 59.”
“It’d be as if Bill Gates got the Seattle Mariners to let him be a starting pitcher for their AAA team,” Greenwald wrote, calling Ackman’s match look an train in “pathetic ego-stroking.”
The Challenger circuit is taken into account a decrease stage {of professional} tennis akin to minor league baseball.
Ackman’s look got here as a part of the newly restructured Corridor of Fame Open, which this yr debuted as a mixed ATP and WTA Challenger 125 occasion.
