@Chilearmy123/Imagn
Bill Ackman is a 59-year-old hedge fund manager who Bloomberg values at over $8 billion. He has no significant competitive tennis experience beyond high school. But when you’re worth $8 billion, you can buy a lot of things.
For Ackman, one of those things was an entry into the doubles portion of ATP Challenger Hall of Fame Open alongside former pro Jack Sock, who was once ranked No. 8 in the world and has won three Grand Slam doubles championships
As you can imagine, Ackman’s entry into the tournament was about as farcical as you’d expect.
Bill Ackman (59 y/o billionaire hedge fund manager) somehow bribed his way into a professional tennis tournament today
It went about as well as you could expect: pic.twitter.com/YwfK2r5ptS
— Clemente (@Chilearmy123) July 10, 2025
Ackman and Sock lost in straight sets to Australia’s Omar Jasika and Bernard Tomic, 6-1, 7-5, and it was abundantly clear that the three pros were playing at half speed at the very most.
Former world No. 1 and 2003 U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick ripped both the event and Ackman to shreds on his “Quick Served” podcast.
“This was the biggest joke I’ve ever watched in professional tennis,” Roddick said. “There was exactly one person on that court trying as hard as they could.”
“You don’t give a wildcard to someone who, 50 players at my club are better than him,” he continued. “There was obviously an exchange of something.”
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova shared sentiments on X, posting, “Apparently you can buy yourself a wild card. Oh to have the confidence…”
Navaratilova’s thoughts came in response to post by tennis journalist Jon Wertheim, who noted that Ackman is currently financing a lawsuit by the Professional Tennis Players Association against the tennis “cartel” for allegedly restricting earning opportunities and access to tournaments. The suit seeks, in part, more “earning opportunities” for players.
The irony does not appear to be lost on Wertheim, or Navratilova. But it sure isn’t a good look for the Ackman-backed plaintiffs.