In a world where billionaires can do whatever they like, taking part in a professional tennis tournament has caused some of the biggest uproar yet.
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has been panned across the sporting world as he took part in the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island.
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Ackman is known to be a huge tennis fanCredit: Getty
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But taking part in a pro tournament with no experience – at the age of 59 – was always going to raise eyebrowsCredit: YouTube: stateofsport211
The 59-year-old American was a shock inclusion at the ATP sanctioned event, appearing alongside countryman and two-time Wimbledon doubles champion Jack Sock.
Sock, who’s won three doubles Grand Slams overall and was previously world No.8 in singles, was a wildcard invitee at the WTA 125 event.
Yet despite his standing as one of the game’s great doubles players, he and Ackman were unsurprisingly thumped 6-1, 7-5 by Australian duo Omar Jasika and Bernard Tomic.
Prominent Donald Trump supporter Ackman himself admitted their opponents were ‘holding back’ in the second set but argued the press were still being ‘brutal’ in their assessment of his performance.
Yet it may well be Sock and the Professional Tennis Players Association [PTPA] who have the most to answer for when it comes to letting the sideshow take place.
Responding to the appearance, former world No.1 and US great Andy Roddick didn’t hold back on his popular podcast.
“Bill Ackman, who’s been a massive tennis fan, supporter, funds the PTPA, does the whole thing,” he said.
“He wanted to play a pro tournament. So, there was obviously some exchange of something.
“You don’t give a wild card to someone who 50 players at my club are better than.
“This was a total miss. Now, the job of the Hall of Fame is to preserve and celebrate excellence in our sport. This was the biggest joke I’ve ever watched in professional tennis.”
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Doubles great Sock (right) has some questions to answer from his peersCredit: Getty
Clips of Ackman’s very questionable technique quickly went viral, and as such Roddick also felt the victorious Australians also deserved some blame.
“There was exactly one person on that court trying as hard as they could,” he said.
“If you want to argue with me, go back and watch that video. And you can’t tell me there was more than one person trying as hard as they could every point, or any point. It was a disaster.”
Martina Navratilova joined in on the critique, writing on social media: “Apparently you can buy yourself a wild card. Oh, to have the confidence…”
A spokesperson for the Hall of Fame disagreed with Roddick and Navratilova’s assessments, telling CNN: “To be clear, in no way was money exchanged in return for the wild card.
“Per ATP rules, players may not receive compensation and players may not offer compensation in exchange for a wild card, and the Hall of Fame Open followed those rules.”
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The organisers were forced to respond as clips of Ackman’s dodgy technique went viralCredit: YouTube: stateofsport211
Ackman himself also discussed his appearance extensively in a string of long messages on Twitter/X, of which he is a prominent user.
“The press on my professional debut has been brutal, and indeed, it was not my best showing,” he said.
“From the press, however, most people likely assumed the score was 6-1, 6-1, and the first set was indeed a blowout.
“Some make much of the fact that it was over in about an hour without noting that Challenger doubles are no-ad with a tie breaker in lieu of the third set, and are typically completed in less than an hour.
“All of that said, the second set went much better than the first. I held one of my serves and we were up a break 4-3 with three break points to break again at 15-40.
“Had we converted any of the three break points — I missed one of them wide down the line on the service return — it would have been Jack Sock to serve at 5-3 and we would likely have split sets.
“And we would have had momentum going into the tie breaker. We ended up losing the set 7-5.
“And yes, the competition were clearly holding back. That made it even more difficult as I had too much time to think.”