Billionaire Hedge Fund Investor Bill Ackman Loses Pro Tennis Debut
The 59-year-old hedge fund manager joined 32-year-old Jack Sock—a three-time Grand Slam winner—for this week's Hall of Fame Open doubles tournament in Newport, R.I., losing 6-1, 7-5 to Australians Omar Jasika and Bernard Tomic, a 32-year-old former world No. 17 singles player attempting another rise up the rankings.
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The tournament granted Sock and Ackman a wild-card entry. Ackman previously said Sock would be able to keep the reported $2,030 in prize money that would accompany a win. The duo that wins Sunday's championship match will receive $9,900. The grass-court tournament is an ATP Challenge Tour-level event this year after being played as an ATP 250 contest previously.
Ackman is no stranger to the world of pro tennis, even if he made his ATP-level debut at just shy of 60. He is one of the key backers behind a tennis players trade association—and the board chair for the Professional Tennis Players Association's for-profit arm—and has also financially supported individual prospects, including Frances Tiafoe.
'I have had a lifelong passion for tennis, both as a player and a fan, but have long recognized the challenges that most professional tennis players experience due to the sport's inferior economics for all but the very top of the rankings ladder,' Ackman said in 2023.
Ackman eyed competing alongside Nick Kyrgios earlier this year, though injuries to the Australian derailed those plans. Every tournament reserves a few wild card slots, which are are frequently given to relatively big names interested in competing, though controversy has arisen when relatives of other players or those with commercial connections to events are let in over higher-ranked alternatives. Sock's last pro match had been in 2023; he has since focused on podcasting and pickleball.
Ackman played tennis in high school at Horace Greeley but did not play in college, focusing on crew instead. Since then, primarily as the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, he has developed a net worth of $9.4 billion, according to Forbes. He reportedly previously paid $100,000 to play in a charity doubles match against John McEnroe, one of multiple overlaps between his philanthropic efforts and the sport.
He recently played in the Finance Cup tournament at Newport's International Tennis Hall of Fame, making the semifinals with 1987 ATP Newcomer of the Year—and current global co-head of investor relations and marketing for Taconic Capital—Richey Reneberg.
'I am playing the best tennis of my life,' Ackman posted on X afterwards.
The Rhode Island location was the original home of what is now the U.S. Open tournament, dating back to 1881. The museum was established in 1954. Ackman and his Pershing Square Foundation are members of the Hall of Fame's 'Founder's Circle,' an honor given to 'philanthropic leaders whose passion and devotion have preserved and sustained this historic property and institution.'
Ackman showed up for the match in an all-white Nike get-up; Pershing has invested in the sporting good giant, with Ackman supporting new CEO Elliott Hill.
Ackman has been increasingly outspoken on social and political issues on X, endorsing Donald Trump in 2024. He has 1.8 million followers on the platform, more than Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner combined. Ackman has been particularly vocal about NYC's mayoral race, offering to fund a centrist alternative to recent Democratic primary winner Zohran Mamdani.
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