Tennis fans are serving up savage critiques after billionaire Bill Ackman stole someone’s spot at a tennis tournament and lost miserably.
The 59-year-old MAGA financier caused quite a racket Wednesday after he and his doubles partner, retired pro player Jack Sock, failed to win a single set at the Hall of Fame Open, a famed summer tournament in Newport, Rhode Island.
After an hour and seven minutes, the pair lost the match 6-1, 7-5. Ackman was forced to step off the court, dripping with sweat.
“I could give a speech to 2,000 people, no problem,” he said. “But to get in front of 150 people and play tennis is a little different.”
Ackman is a major donor to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, which puts on the tournament. But tournament officials claimed that Ackman played as part of a “wild card” entry granted to Sock, who was eligible for it as he won the 2021 doubles title at the Hall of Fame.
Nevertheless, onlookers questioned how Ackman got a spot to play in the first place. Or, as USA Today columnist Dan Wolken wrote, “Whether it’s Wimbledon or the lowest-rung tournament in tennis’ minor leagues, there aren’t any shortcuts to getting in. Unless, of course, you’re billionaire hedge fund guy Bill Ackman.”
“Another mega-billionaire living out his own private dream,” tennis fan Lydia Chambers told The New York Times. “I hope he’s making a huge donation.”
Journalist Glenn Greenwald posted on X, “BillAckman 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. His level was so abysmal that it forced the professional players on the court to pat the ball to him, enraging the tennis world.”
Bill Ackman 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. His level was so abysmal that it forced the professional players on the court to pat the ball to him, enraging the tennis world. pic.twitter.com/ZMpqae51Y1
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 10, 2025
“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,” one X user scoffed.
Bill Ackman (59 y/o billionaire hedge fund manager) somehow bribed his way into a professional tennis tournament todayIt went about as well as you could expect: pic.twitter.com/YwfK2r5ptS
— Clemente (@Chilearmy123) July 10, 2025
Another said, “I guess when you’re worth $9.5 Billion, tour players will treat you like a ‘Make-A-Wish’ child in your ATP Challenger match. Bill Ackman is an absolute joke.”
I guess when you’re worth $9.5 Billion, tour players will treat you like a “Make-A-Wish” child in your ATP Challenger match. Bill Ackman is an absolute joke. Shame on the @TennisHalloFame. Shame on the @atptour for allowing this man to buy a wild card. Where are we, Saudi Arabia? pic.twitter.com/U6EJTvLZzE
— Johnathan Doughe (@JohnDougheMD) July 9, 2025
A third added, “Bill Ackman should not have been given a wild card for a professional tennis tournament, when he doesn’t play on that level. If Ackman wanted to be mocked for competing in a circus event in which he’d be overmatched, he could have called Jake Paul.”
I agree with Andy Roddick. Bill Ackman should not have been given a wild card for a professional tennis tournament, when he doesn’t play on that level. If Ackman wanted to be mocked for competing in a circus event in which he’d be overmatched, he could have called Jake Paul
— Jonathan Marks (@marksjo1) July 10, 2025
Ackman’s excuse for his horrible defeat? 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 on X.
He even claimed that his body involuntarily froze and his “difficulty breathing ” was “not a fitness issue.”
“I regularly play with mid-20-year-old D1 college players and recently retired pros on a familiar court with no audience with none of the same symptoms,” he insisted.
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. I found myself on a tennis court in a live streamed…
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) July 10, 2025
Ackman’s awkward excuse came amid a flurry of other posts he made expressing his love for Elon Musk and slamming Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as a “communist.”
His failure also came less than a week after he announced on X that he was playing “the best tennis of my life.”
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