Tennis world up in arms after billionaire Bill Ackman plays in Hall of Fame Open match

Australian doubles pair Bernard Tomic and Omar Jasika have been caught up in a tennis storm after featuring in a match against US billionaire Bill Ackman.

Ackman is the founder of a hedge fund management company and according to Forbes is worth more than $9 billion.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Bill Ackman raises eyebrows in Hall of Fame Open match.

The 59-year-old somehow managed to get himself into the 2025 Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island, and appeared in a doubles match with former US tennis star Jack Sock on Wednesday (US).

The match was notable for the players appeared to be delicately tapping the ball around the court, with the Aussies winning in 67 minutes, 6-1, 7-5.

And there was outrage at the standard of tennis afterwards, made even worse by the fact that the tournament has been restructured this year and is now a combined ATP and WTA Challenger 125 event.

Tennis champions Andy Roddick and Martina Navratilova led the outcry.

“This is a disaster ... the biggest joke I’ve ever watched in professional tennis,” Roddick said.

And Navratilova said: “Apparently you can buy yourself a wild card. Oh to have the confidence …”

Even the tournament director Randy Walker didn’t like it.

“This is the absolute worst tennis match I have ever seen,” he said

Famous American sports journalist Jon Wertheim said it was bad for tennis and the tournament now lacked “integrity”.

“Note, too, that this guy — who took a legit player’s draw spot — is helping bankroll the PTPA, which just filed a federal suit that, in part, seeks more ‘earning opportunities’ for players ....,” he said on social media.

“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.”

Ackman got into the tournament after receiving a “wildcard”, the system used to get players into a tournament who may not qualify due to rankings (because of injury or youth or whatever).

But appalled fans believe Ackman only received his wildcard due to his wealth.

Posting a clip of action on social media, one fan raged: “I guess when you’re worth $9.5 billion, tour players will treat you like a “Make-A-Wish” child in your ATP Challenger match. Bill Ackman is an absolute joke. Shame on the Tennis Hall of Fame. Shame on the ATP tour for allowing this man to buy a wild card.”

Billionaire Ackman issues statement on ‘humbling’ tennis experience

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.

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.

I 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.

It was a very humbling experience that gives one even more respect for the pros who play for a living in front of the cameras and the crowds.

We forget that they also need to manage the challenges of their carefully examined personal lives, their break ups, their emotions, financial stresses, and their mental health, family, and other challenges.

Tennis is one of the few sports where the athlete is out there alone in front of the klieg lights for hours operating with incredible intensity with barely a bathroom break. And they might have been awakened in the middle of the previous night for a drug test while staying far from home.

For all but the top players, they also struggle financially as they manage their small businesses working to recruit and retain talent, manage expenses, balance their budgets, and pay their taxes on time.

Whatever respect we already have for these incredible athletes, it is not enough. They deserve more of our applause and appreciation.