“Looked like four players were in the bag”: Andy Roddick calls for investigation after billionaire Bill Ackman featured in Hall of Fame Open

Former world number one Andy Roddick has criticised the Tennis Hall of Fame’s decision to allow billionaire Bill Ackman to participate in a professional tournament. Ackman, known for his passion for the sport, has made significant contributions to tennis, including funding the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), which is co-owned by Serbia's Novak Djokovic.

Ackman, who has a total net worth of more than $9 billion, according to Forbes, recently featured in a doubles match at the Hall of Fame Open while playing with three-time doubles Grand Slam winner Jack Sock of America. The pair lost to Omar Jasika and Bernard Tomic in straight sets, with a score of 6-1, 7-5.

Roddick, speaking in his podcast, Quick Served with Andy Roddick, noted that something felt off after seeing Ackman participate in the event. Roddick went as far as saying that the whole thing was ‘the biggest joke’ he has ever watched in professional tennis. Roddick also called for an investigation into the entire matter and stated a previous incident where Australia’s Nick Kyrgios was penalised for ‘not trying’.

“This was a total miss,” said Roddick. “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. It felt like all four players were in the bag. Bill Ackman, who’s been a massive tennis fan, supporter, funds the PTPA, does the whole thing, wanted to play a pro tournament. There was obviously some exchange of something. You don’t give a wild card to someone who 50 players at my club are better than. There was exactly one person on that court trying as hard as they could. 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.”