Latest news with #ATPChallengerTour
Scoop
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Scoop
New Zealand Davis Cup Team Announced Ahead Of Tie Against Georgia
New Zealand has named their five-strong Davis Cup team to take on Georgia in the upcoming tie. The team consists of Ajeet Rai, Finn Reynolds, Jack Loutit, Isaac Becroft and James Watt. New Zealand number one Ajeet Rai has the most Davis Cup selections from the young squad, with this being his 11th appointment. New Zealand doubles specialist Finn Reynolds, currently ranked at an impressive #121 in the world, gets the greenlight for the 6th time, alongside Jack Loutit who has proved a considerable contender against higher ranked opponents at his last two Davis Cup outings. Isaac Becroft gets his third call-up into the team, while Cantabrian James Watt has earned his first selection. 'I'm super excited to represent New Zealand for the first time,' Watt said, in a video to New Zealand tennis fans. 'It's been a dream of mine to be selected for the Davis Cup team. Now it's my time, it's a pretty cool feeling.' James Watt has shot up the rankings in both singles and doubles over the last few months, creating a successful pairing on the ATP Challenger Tour with fellow Davis Cup team member Finn Reynolds. Since they began playing together in March, James has climbed an impressive 184 places in the world rankings, and is now the world #135. The World Group II clash will take place on 13-14 September, and will mark the second time in a row Fly Palmy Arena will host the World Cup of Tennis, following a sellout weekend last year where New Zealand suffered a narrow defeat to Luxembourg. New Zealand's non-playing Davis Cup captain Artem Sitak will lead the squad once again, having made his captaincy debut last year in Palmerston North. Sitak brings years of international experience and a deep connection to the Davis Cup environment as a former player. 'We've got unfinished business in Palmy. Last year the atmosphere was incredible, and we were so close, but this year I know we'll give even more and get the right result for the Manawatū fans,' Sitak said. Day one features two singles matches, day two features the doubles match and reverse singles matches. Tickets are now on sale via
CNN
11-07-2025
- Business
- CNN
‘Biggest joke I've ever watched in professional tennis': Swift backlash after billionaire Bill Ackman's pro debut
Billionaire Bill Ackman and organizers of a tennis tournament have been strongly criticized by former grand slam champions and social media after the hedge fund manager made his professional tennis debut, a match he ended up losing. Ackman, who has a prominent social media presence on X, played with three-time grand slam doubles champion Jack Sock in the men's doubles at the Hall of Fame Open – an event sanctioned by tennis' world governing bodies, the ATP and the WTA – on Wednesday where they lost in straight sets 6-1, 7-5 to Omar Jasika and Bernard Tomic. The 59-year-old and Sock were vastly outplayed by their Australian opponents, coming second in almost every statistical measure in their match in Newport, Rhode Island. Ackman had been invited to play by Sock, who had received a wild card entry to the tournament, which is a WTA 125 event and also sits on the ATP Challenger Tour, a lower-tier men's tour focused at giving younger or aspiring players an opportunity to progress their careers. Ackman – the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management and has a personal net worth of $9.5 billion according to Forbes – said it was a dream come true to play pro tennis just once. 'I feel like maybe it's one and done,' Ackman said afterwards, per The New York Times. 'But I figured one, in my life, that seemed fair.' On social media, Ackman called the whole experience 'very humbling' and detailed the 'stage fright' he felt playing on a professional stage. '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,' Ackman wrote on X. 'I found myself on a tennis court in a live streamed professional tournament with a few hundred in the crowd. 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.' While his appearance ticks off a lifetime goal for Ackman, his foray into professional tennis was met with derision from fans of the sport, including journalists and former pros. Former world No. 1 Andy Roddick was extremely critical, highlighting his own involvement in the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the organization's role in the sport. 'Bill Ackman, who's been a massive tennis fan, supporter, funds the PTPA (Professional Tennis Players Association), does the whole thing, wanted to play a pro tournament. So, there was obviously some exchange of something,' the 2003 US Open winner said on his 'Served' podcast. '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.' When contacted by CNN Sports, the ATP pointed to its rule on wild cards, saying tournaments 'may not receive compensation and players may not offer compensation in exchange for the awarding of a wild card.' CNN Sports has contacted Pershing Square Capital Management to offer Ackman the right of reply. CNN Sports has also reached out to Sock, the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the WTA for comment. Roddick also called into question the effort levels of the players involved, apart from Ackman, saying that the match should be reviewed for its apparent lack of competitiveness. '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.' On social media, Ackman wrote that the 'competition were clearly holding back' which 'made it even more difficult as I had too much time to think.' CNN Sports has reached out to Jasika and Tomic via Tennis Australia for comment. 18-time grand slam singles champion Martina Navratilova weighed in on Ackman's involvement, writing: 'Apparently you can buy yourself a wild card. Oh to have the confidence…' Tennis journalist Jon Wertheim also criticized the appearance of the hedge fund manager at the tournament, writing on X: 'This would've been fine for a pro-am. For a sanctioned event with points and prize$? It was, at best, wildly inappropriate and lacking in integrity.'
USA Today
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Billionaire playing in ATP tournament makes mockery of pro tennis
Despite its roots as a recreational pursuit of the elite, modern-day tennis is about as close to a meritocracy as you'll find in professional sports. Whether it's Wimbledon or the lowest-rung tournament in tennis' minor leagues, there aren't any shortcuts to getting in. You qualify based on accomplishment. You can only advance to the next level by winning. You eat what you kill. You get what you deserve. And you are what your ranking says you are. Unless, of course, you're billionaire hedge fund guy Bill Ackman. On Wednesday afternoon, the 59-year old founder of Pershing Square Capital Management will suit up at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island, indulging his sports fantasy while making a mockery of the tournament and the ATP Challenger Tour where players strive to eke out a living. "I am playing the best tennis of my life," Ackman wrote last week on X, where he posts frequently about politics and is often far-too-eager to embrace ridiculous conspiracy theories. Including the idea that he belongs in a pro tennis event. Ackman's enthusiasm for tennis is indisputable. He's a bit of a gadfly on tour, befriending several players and helping bankroll the Professional Tennis Players Association when it was launched in 2019 by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil. He says he practices nearly every day, seems to be in good shape for a 59-year old and, because of his access to top players, has found himself on the other side of the net from all-time greats like Roger Federer in informal hitting sessions. And still, there is no deeper story to what's happening in Newport this week other than exactly what it looks like: A wealthy tennis benefactor who started playing seriously a decade ago using his privilege to say he competed in a pro tour event. We can be honest about how gross that is – both in Ackman's desire to make it happen and the ATP's willingness to humor him. How did it happen? According to Ackman's social media posts, former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios had proposed playing doubles together at one point, but ongoing injury issues delayed their partnership indefinitely. "Fortunately fate intervened," Ackman wrote. Of course, it's not fate. It's simply the privilege of being Bill Ackman. Let's explain. Even though entrants for every tournament on the ATP or Challenger Tour level must meet a rankings threshold or earn a spot through a qualifying event, every tournament reserves a handful of wildcards that can be given out at its discretion. The wildcard system isn't perfect and sometimes creates controversy, but in general they're used for reasonable purposes: An accomplished player who lost their ranking due to injury and is trying to come back, an up-and-coming star with local ties, a highly-ranked player who didn't enter initially but decided to play at the last minute. The Newport event, which was downgraded from ATP-level to a Challenger tournament this year, gave the wildcard in doubles to Jack Sock on the basis of being a former champion of the tournament and one of the most accomplished doubles players of the last decade. There's just one little issue: Sock, 32, is a pickleball player and podcaster now. His last professional tennis match was at the U.S. Open in 2023, and there is no indication that he's planning a comeback. Also interesting: In an interview with Front Office Sports last week, Ackman said he had never even met Sock but that they were going to begin practicing together last weekend. So Sock – out of the blue, apparently – requested a wildcard from Newport even though his tennis career has long been over. The tournament granted it, and Sock listed Ackman as his doubles partner. Which, again, the tournament allowed even though you can't find results on Ackman in any of the public tennis databases kept by the USTA or Universal Tennis Rating (UTR). Why was Ackman approved to compete? One truly wonders – unless, of course, you know how the world works. But that's not how tennis is supposed to work. Look, it's not the end of the world. While technically the Ackman-Sock wildcard could have gone to a legitimate team that needed the opportunity rather than a sideshow, nobody's career is going to hinge on missing the cut for the doubles draw at the Newport Challenger. But this isn't a golf pro-am. It's the real thing. And as long as we have pro sports, you'd like them to be played by professionals and not exist for the whims of potential benefactors who have a ton of money and a delusion about how good they are at playing tennis. It's a bad look, and it certainly doesn't help the image of a sport that does not necessarily deserve its country club reputation. While some top-ranked players came from privilege, it's not really that different from most other sports. The top two men's players, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, both emerged from middle class backgrounds. Djokovic grew up flat-out poor in a war-torn country. Coco Gauff started on the public courts in Delray Beach, Florida, inspired by Serena and Venus Williams' rise from Compton, California, to the top of the sport. And even for those who had advantages like Jessica Pegula, whose parents own the Buffalo Bills, there's no faking it in tennis. You have to win the right matches to establish your ranking, which gets you in the right tournaments, which only allows you to maintain that privilege if you keep winning. You can't use your social media fame or friendships or wealth to buy your way onto the pro tour. Unless, apparently, you're Bill Ackman.
The South African
03-07-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Lloyd Harris out of Wimbledon: Here's how much MONEY he won
Russia's Andrey Rublev took his career head-to-head record against South Africa's Lloyd Harris to 4-0 when he won their men's singles second round match at Wimbledon on Wednesday. The Russian 14th seed beat Harris in four sets to advance to the third round. Harris won the first set 7-6 after winning a one-sided tie-break 7/1. However, Rublev hit back in the match to claim the next three sets 7-5, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3. Lloyd Harris qualified for the second round after defeating world No 50 Zizou Bergs of Belgium in four spellbinding sets – 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (7/5), 6-2. However, that match seemed to take a lot out of him as Rublev eventually cruised to victory in their second-round outing. The 28-year-old South African has battled back from injury, first a wrist operation in 2022 and last October major surgery to his back. 'Back surgery is tough because I'll tell you what – you can't use your legs, you can't use your upper body. You can't do anything,' Harris said. 'This surgery, I was in no shape, I had no condition when coming back, still in a lot of pain when I had to start moving and getting things going again. That was tough. 'As hard as [the wrist surgery] was and how tedious the wrist is, at least I was in great shape. I was able to move and be active physically. Okay, I couldn't do anything upper body, but damn, I was fit. So that made things a lot easier in that perspective.' Lloyd Harris's return to action post-surgery first came in February, after a seven-month layoff. He began on the ATP Challenger Tour and lost his first seven of eight matches, including two retirements, across all levels. It was not until Roland Garros qualifying that Harris won consecutive matches. 'It's not easy but in the end, it's a process and you try to make it as fun as you can,' Harris said. 'When you're back and you're healthy and you're playing good matches, winning matches, it's all worth it in the end, 100 percent,' he said. Harris pocketed £99 000 (R2.4 million) for reaching the second round. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The Irish Sun
01-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Wimbledon star quit tennis at 23 for gruelling work as a fencer before returning to sport and finding love with Brit ace
WHEN Alex Bolt quit tennis aged just 23, he would never have imagined making four appearances at Wimbledon. Within days of hanging up his racquet, the Aussie, now 32, joined his brother-in-law's fencing business and began hard graft in the sweltering Southern Australian heat. 7 Alex Bolt quit tennis aged just 23 to work as a fencer in March 2016 Credit: EPA 7 Bolt with British tennis ace girlfriend Katie Swan in London Credit: INSTAGRAM After a flurry of defeats against lower-ranked players, Bolt decided to call it quits after "hating his time on the court" in March 2016. Hours after an emotional farewell chat with his then-coach Simon Rea, Bolt joined the family business and set his alarm clock for 5:30am to make a 45-minute drive to his new fencing job. In 2020, he told "Those were long, hot days. It can get pretty hot out on a tennis court , but this was rough. I was drained to say the least. Those 5:30 wake-up calls? My excitement was gone after Day 2. That was not fun at all." READ MORE TENNIS NEWS Just to rub salt in the wounds, one of his first jobs was around basketball and tennis courts at a primary school. After grinding out his new job for a few months, Bolt was persuaded to buy a pair of boots and play in a local Aussie Rules team called the Mypolonga Tigers, which he says "helped him regain his happiness". He said: "It was probably a couple months after that when I started missing tennis . I didn't think I'd ever pick up a racquet. But I wasn't totally out of touch. I'd made some great mates with the Aussie boys, and was still in group chats with them." Bolt then thought 'that could've been me' when he saw his mate Jordan Thompson crack the Top 100 and win four ATP Challenger Tour events later in 2016. Most read in Sport CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS After hesitating for a while, Bolt got a random call from tennis coach Todd Langman, who was working with his best pal Thanasi Kokkinakis . Todd saw a picture Bolt posted on Facebook at the end of the Aussie Rules season and gave him a call - and Bolt didn't need much persuading. British world No719 qualifies for Wimbledon but is BANNED from claiming £66,000 prize money 7 Bolt found happiness again while playing Aussie Rules with his pals during his break from tennis After nine months away from the court, Bolt's first day back was the 2016 AFL Grand Final. He was massively out of shape and was told to start from scratch. Todd even made Bolt play against young kids, telling him to not back down and "to give everything he had". He made his official return to action at a Challenger in Adelaide at the start of 2017, with his Aussie Rules pals coming out to cheer him on while he made the main draw and lost in the second round. Bolt, who is now dating British tennis ace a wild card into Australian Open qualies in 2017. He said: "It was all such a blur . Before I knew it, I was beating Julien Benneteau in the final round to reach the main draw of a Slam for the first time. " Despite losing to Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round, Bolt finished the year with a singles ranking of No. 192 - an improvement of almost 400 places from the end of 2016. 7 British star Swan is dating Bolt 7 The Aussie qualified for Wimbledon 2025 He also had a handy year on the doubles circuit, making five Challenger finals with three victories to finish the season ranked No. 86, a career high doubles ranking. Before his best singles result in a third round at the Australian Open in 2019, Bolt booked his first Wimbledon main draw debut in 2018 after beating best friend Kokkinakis. Fast forward seven years and Bolt, currently No.194 in the world, has beaten 19-year-old Spaniard Martin Landaluce in the final round of qualifying to reach the main draw of Wimbledon for the fourth time. He takes on 10th seed Ben Shelton today in the first round. Meanwhile, girlfriend Swan's dream of returning to Wimbledon was crushed in the first qualifying round in a tight defeat to Leyre Romero Gormaz 7-6(2), 7-6(6). 7 Bolt beat teenager Martin Landaluce at Roehampton to reach the Wimbledon main draw this week It was only as recently as 2023 that Swan was going toe-to-toe with Amazingly, Swan, 26, is not the only British tennis player called Katie in a relationship with an Aussie called Alex, As well as representing Elbow surgery in 2022 provided a slight setback, forcing Bolt out of competition for six months. In 2024, Bolt won back-to-back singles titles at the Swan Hill Tennis International, an ITF 25 grass-court event. 7 Bolt and Swan have been an item since 2022 Credit: INSTAGRAM
