According to Front Office Sports, the International Tennis Hall of Fame rejected a $10 million gift from hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman after an entry that was widely criticised for the ATP Challenger event.
Ackman, a longtime tennis fan, 59, competed for the Rhode Island Hall of Fame as doubles team with former top 10 Rhode Island player Jack Sock last week, losing 6-1, 7-5 to Omar Jasika and Bernard Tomic.
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The Challenger Tour is the underlayer of the ATP Tour, but is an actual professional tournament. Ackman received a wildcard entry after his philanthropy history with the Hall of Fame and had no professional experience thrown into a group of experts, like a 59-year-old tennis enthusiast. Jasika and Tomic were openly and easily on him, but did not prevent him and Sock from losing in straight sets.
The decision to add a billionaire to the tournament it hosts led to a wave of criticism from the tennis community hall of fame, especially former world No. 1 Andy Roddick, the last American to win the Grand Slam Singles title.
Regarding his “quick serve service” podcast, Roddick called the match “total miss”, “pathetic”, “hard to watch”, “the biggest joke I’ve seen in professional tennis.” He actually didn’t condemn Ackman’s decision to play, he held Hall accountable and praised the billionaire’s efforts, but stated that he believes the decision behind the match justifies the review.
“There was exactly one person in that court who tried as hard as they could,” Roddick said. “…If you want to argue with me, go back and watch that video. You can’t tell me that they’re working as hard as every point or every point. It was a disaster.
“This was in my opinion under the Hall of Fame.”
You can determine each level of effort in the match video below.
Three days after the match, Ackman defended the Hall of Fame, criticised his play, pledged to manage a $10 million donation, and gave the Hall 10% of his principal each year.
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He also called the match an overall success, describing it as “one of the greatest public relations achievements in tennis history,” and challenged Roddick to a doubles match, partly due to his failure in court. He said that the criticism Hall received was “completely” for him, but he tried to explain why he played so badly.
“What’s not revealed is that he played a double stomping tournament at HOF 10 days ago and played great. The field was made up of former professionals and top top players from around the world, but he’s over 55 years old.
“Jack also chose the ad side, and I played the ad side last year. I also served the 1:30pm sun on the shot clock (a new experience for me).
Everyone has a different definition of success, but Hall doesn’t seem happier than Ackman about how this unfolds. It declined to comment on FOS, but reportedly said in a letter to its members and the board that it would refuse to donate to avoid “recognition of fraud.”
“In hindsight, we won’t make this decision again,” he added, pointing to Ackman’s wildcard entry.
