Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman’s wildcard entry into a professional tennis tournament ended in swift defeat Wednesday, drawing sharp criticism from tennis fans and officials who questioned whether the hedge fund manager had earned his spot on the court.
Bill Ackman, chief executive officer of Pershing Square Capital Management LP, takes a break during ... More
Ackman announced his wildcard selection on X last Wednesday, writing that former Grand Slam winner Jack Sock managed to list him as his doubles partner at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island—he also said he was “pretty sure” he would be “the oldest person in tennis history,” at 59 years old, to win Association of Tennis Professionals points.
The Hall of Fame Open is a competitive ATP tournament Challenger series event held on grass courts, with participants generally selected based on ATP rankings, wildcards entries and qualifiers.
Sock, 32, retired from professional tennis in 2023 to pursue a career in pickleball and was suddenly given a wildcard for the Newport event, and listed Ackman, a longtime tennis lover, as his partner (players can select anyone as their partner, regardless of status).
Social media users mocked Ackman after he and Sock lost 6-1, 7-5 to Australians Omar Jasika and Bernard Tomic, and an op-ed published in USA Today slammed Ackman’s entry as a “mockery of pro tennis,” blasting Sock for giving “no indication that he’s planning a comeback” and Ackman because “you can’t find results” on him “in any of the public tennis databases kept by the USTA.”
Randy Walker, the director for the Vero Beach Futures tennis tournament—an International Tennis Federation tournament—took to X after the match to post, “I just watched the absolute worst professional tennis match I have ever seen,” noting Ackman and Sock’s loss.
A wildcard is a special entry granted by tournament organizers that allows a player to enter the main draw or qualifying rounds without meeting the usual ranking or qualification criteria. They are typically given to former top players, promising young players, local players or players with promotional value.
Walker, who has served as the tournament director for Vero Beach Futures since 2017, said on X that he wanted to “provide some commentary” and insights on the Newport match, but that he was “too sick to my stomach over it to do so right now.” Earlier on Wednesday, Walker slammed Ackman for not “earning” his wildcard, referencing 53-year-old James Bragg, who was given a wildcard into the USTA Pro Circuit tournament in Vero Beach after winning a doubles event in 2023. Walker has also criticized Ackman on X for saying he would be “the oldest person in tennis history at 59 to win ATP points,” pointing to Gardnar Mulloy, who “earned” his ATP ranking at 64 at a Grand Prix event played in North Miami, Florida, in 1978.