WATCH: Bill Ackman Partners With Former Top Ten Player to Lose In First Round of a Pro Tennis Tournament

 
Bill Ackman competes in professional tennis tournament

Screenshot

In what some online have called a mockery of the sport, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman found his way into a professional tennis tournament Wednesday.

Ackman, an avid tennis player, participated in the Hall of Fame Open doubles tournament as a wildcard entry. He teamed up with American pro Jack Sock, who climbed as high as eighth in the world rankings during the prime of his career. The two faced off against Australian pros Bernard Tomic and Omar Jasika.

Based on the footage that made it to social media, Ackman didn’t fare particularly well. In one clip, Ackman did actually score a point on a well-played return. He immediately followed that up, however, with back-to-back double faults while trying to serve. Three of those serves went straight into the net.

Another clip showed just how easy the Australians took it on Ackman, with multiple soft returns that proved to still be too much for him.

That was far from the last of it, as shown in a less-than-flattering supercut posted on X/Twitter.

Ackman and Sock went on to lose the match in straight sets.

The tournament was part of the ATP Challenger Tour — a tier below the ATP Tour in which the top pros compete. Players in the Challenger Tour are often there to improve their rankings and eventually make their way on to the top tour.

In a lengthy tweet posted after the match, Ackman attributed his poor performance to nerves.

“I found myself on a tennis court in a live streamed professional tournament with a few hundred in the crowd,” Ackman said. “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.”

Tags: