Will Bill Ackman win a game in his pro tennis debut?

[ratiman]

Ackman is playing doubles with Jack Sock at the tennis hall of fame tournament in Newport RI, which is played on grass. It is not an ATP event but it is just below an ATP event, it's 125 points so it's a pretty big deal, top 100 players will be playing. Ackman will be playing on grass and he will be playing against Bernie Tomic and Omar Jasika. So will he win a game? Sock is a very good doubles player but he probably can't serve four aces out of six points or five out of seven and the opponents will pick on Ackman, who is 59. Doubles is no-ad so as long as they get to deuce Sock / Ackman only have to win one point. I am going to say that they won't win a game but they might win one or two games on Sock's serve but Sock hasn't played in a couple years and he was never in good shape even in his best years and he is surely out of shape now so I am going to say that Sock / Ackman will be served a humiliating double bagel. Tomic and Jasicka are not great doubles players but they are top 250 pros and that is a very high level.

Edited July 8, 2025 by ratiman

[jjsto]

Well, this will at least be interesting.  

 

At the age of 59, it seems very unlikely that a recreational player like Ackman could be more than around a 4.5usta or 8utr in singles.  Jack Sock in his prime was a top 5 doubles player in my opinion.  Had he focused on doubles and avoided injury, maybe he would still be top 5 doubles now at only 32.  But, I don't know how much tennis he is actually playing, or if he is even in shape. I don't think pickleball helps prepare you for tennis at all...

 

Tomic and Jasika are still current professional tennis players with 13+ utrs. 

 

Like OP said, maybe Sock can hold his serve a couple of times if he is feeling good, maybe.  It seems like winning even a single point off of Ackman returning a first serve would be a challenge.  I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess Sock has a good day and they get two games on his serve 

[hardcorevalue]

Will probably goes as well as his race against Loeb (where he got destroyed). Bill has gone a bit psycho recently so I'm saying no chance he wins. 

[TwoCitiesCapital]

Does this mean he's lost his focus again and we should be actively shorting/selling his investment vehicles? 

[DooDiligence]

Hasn't overconfidence been his biggest fault?

[Redskin212]

well he lost 6-1, 7-5. Not too bad for a guy who is nearly 60

 

 

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fnews%2Farticles%2F2025-07-09%2Fbill-ackman-s-quest-for-pro-tennis-win-falls-short-in-early-exit&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cabfcdd99add24ade8e0b08ddbf37185d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638876965528058841%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=WYyeNFapHQeaDvI81Cs7Ak8ymUCfrtzSeBc9%2B6r0ljM%3D&reserved=0
 

 

[TwoCitiesCapital]

4 hours ago, DooDiligence said:

Hasn't overconfidence been his biggest fault?

 

I thought it was his serve

[DooDiligence]

1 hour ago, TwoCitiesCapital said:

 

I thought it was his serve

 

Ba-dum tsss. I set 'em up, you knock 'em down.

[Parsad]

You can see him play here:

 

 

He's an average recreational player.  They were taking it very easy on him.  He doesn't even hit the ball at the apex and has no backhand.  His volleying got better in the 2nd set.  They were taking very casual swings on their returns, as three of them were/are professional and he's an amateur.  Still in good shape for a 59 year old and looked like he had fun. 

 

My uncle, who taught me to play, would have ripped him apart at 59 just with his serve alone.  I played a lot as a teenager and into my late 20's, and entered a number of local amateur tournaments.  My uncle's serve in his 50's had so much spin on it, he made me look like a fool as a youngster.  He could put the ball wherever he wanted on his serve...over and over again!  Made some professionals look stupid too!  He taught a lot of local amateurs and a few professionals at Hollyburn in West Vancouver.  Cheers!

[Spekulatius]

How did he get into this tournament to begin with? Just pay $$$?

[Parsad]

29 minutes ago, Spekulatius said:

How did he get into this tournament to begin with? Just pay $$$?

 

Sock was eligible as a professional player to enter the tournament.  He picked Ackman as his partner.  Maybe he invests with Ackman, or they play together recreationally...maybe Ackman paid him...not sure.  Alot of people were not happy! 

 

Ackman says he plays with D1 college players and ex-pros, but they must take it easy on him.  When I was younger, I played some fringe pros for fun, let alone actual pros...they absolutely destroyed me and I was probably close to a college level player.  Cheers!

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-14895243/MAGA-hedge-fund-billionaire-slammed-buying-way-tennis-tournament-disastrous-results.html

[boilermaker75]

I had a fraternity brother who was on the tennis team. A few of us were staying on campus during the summer and we went out one night to the tennis courts. I don't think I ever even got my racket on any of his serves.

[whatstheofficerproblem]

On 7/8/2025 at 7:25 AM, hardcorevalue said:

Will probably goes as well as his race against Loeb

 

I had the privilege of talking to Loeb and his accomplices, they are not to be messed with, incredibly goal oriented and focused people and geniuses in their own league but won't say no to some good time. Billy on the other hand spends less time investing and more time ranting on X. Ah, so now he is also into tennis I see, flavor of the week. Heavy into everything but ready for the next thing.

Edited July 11, 2025 by whatstheofficerproblem

[handycap5]

 

[dcollon]

That's so good.   Thank you for posting it 

[Saluki]

That's hilarious! I took a tennis class for gym credit in college, so I'm no expert, but even I can see that they took it easy on him. In BJJ if you are dealing with someone new and take it easy on them, we say you "let them work," so they aren't discouraged and will come back. If this were BJJ, his wife would pat him on the back and tell him "wow, you did really good out there." If you are dealing with someone experienced, it's okay to "give them your business card" and go 100%.  

 

 

Ackman never got to see that guy's business card, which is a shame.