{"id":310,"date":"2025-07-11T02:25:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T02:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/310\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T02:25:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T02:25:03","slug":"trumpy-billionaire-bill-ackman-59-flamed-for-pro-tennis-debut-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/310\/","title":{"rendered":"Trumpy Billionaire Bill Ackman, 59, Flamed for Pro-Tennis Debut Disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tennis fans are serving up savage critiques after billionaire Bill Ackman stole someone\u2019s spot at a tennis tournament and lost miserably. <\/p>\n

The 59-year-old MAGA financier caused quite a racket Wednesday<\/a> 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. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

\u201cI could give a speech to 2,000 people, no problem,\u201d he said. \u201cBut to get in front of 150 people and play tennis is a little different.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u201cwild card\u201d entry granted to Sock, who was eligible for it as he won the 2021 doubles title at the Hall of Fame. <\/p>\n

\"BillBill Ackman, a Trump supporter, failed miserably at this week’s tennis match. Ilya S. Savenok\/Ilya S. Savenok\/Getty Images for PTPA <\/p>\n

Nevertheless, onlookers questioned how Ackman got a spot to play in the first place. Or, as USA Today columnist Dan Wolken wrote, \u201cWhether it\u2019s Wimbledon or the lowest-rung tournament in tennis\u2019 minor leagues, there aren\u2019t any shortcuts to getting in. Unless, of course, you\u2019re billionaire hedge fund guy Bill Ackman.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAnother mega-billionaire living out his own private dream,\u201d tennis fan Lydia Chambers told The New York Times. \u201cI hope he\u2019s making a huge donation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Journalist Glenn Greenwald posted on X, \u201cBillAckman 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.\u201d <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBill 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,\u201d one X user scoffed.<\/p>\n

Bill Ackman (59 y\/o billionaire hedge fund manager) somehow bribed his way into a professional tennis tournament today<\/p>\n

It went about as well as you could expect: pic.twitter.com\/YwfK2r5ptS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Clemente (@Chilearmy123) July 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Another said, \u201cI guess when you\u2019re worth $9.5 Billion, tour players will treat you like a \u2018Make-A-Wish\u2019 child in your ATP Challenger match. Bill Ackman is an absolute joke.\u201d<\/p>\n

I guess when you\u2019re worth $9.5 Billion, tour players will treat you like a \u201cMake-A-Wish\u201d child in your ATP Challenger match. Bill Ackman is an absolute joke. Shame on the @TennisHalloFame<\/a>. Shame on the @atptour<\/a> for allowing this man to buy a wild card. Where are we, Saudi Arabia? pic.twitter.com\/U6EJTvLZzE<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Johnathan Doughe (@JohnDougheMD) July 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

A third added, \u201cBill Ackman should not have been given a wild card for a professional tennis tournament, when he doesn\u2019t play on that level. If Ackman wanted to be mocked for competing in a circus event in which he\u2019d be overmatched, he could have called Jake Paul.\u201d <\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jonathan Marks (@marksjo1) July 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Ackman\u2019s excuse for his horrible defeat? Stage fright. <\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d he wrote on X. <\/p>\n

He even claimed that his body involuntarily froze and his \u201cdifficulty breathing \u201d was \u201cnot a fitness issue.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d he insisted. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

I found myself on a tennis court in a live streamed\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) July 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Ackman\u2019s 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 \u201ccommunist.\u201d <\/p>\n

His failure also came less than a week after he announced on X that he was playing \u201cthe best tennis of my life.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"“I\u201cI 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,\u201d Bill Ackman insisted after the loss. Sean Zanni\/Paul Bruinooge\/Patrick McMullan\/ Sean Zanni