Days after Bill Ackman lost his first professional tennis match, the 59-year-old billionaire hedge fund investor offered a $10 million endowment to the International Tennis Hall of Fame—the same organization that invited him and doubles partner Jack Sock to its annual tournament.
“The HOF is an incredible venue, museum, and tourist attraction, and most people, even tennis fans, didn’t even know it existed until last week,” Ackman posted on X Sunday. “It relies on charitable funding for its existence as a non-profit. So each year the HOF has to go find corporate sponsors and donations to stay solvent, a not so easy task.”
However, the organization has turned down Ackman’s offered donation, a spokesperson confirmed to Sportico Wednesday. Sports Illustrated tennis writer Jon Wertheim first reported the decision, writing that the Hall of Fame passed to avoid “any potential perception of impropriety.”
In making his offer, Ackman explained that “many … claimed that I bribed the HOF for the wildcard, which is entirely untrue.”
Ackman has donated to the organization in the past—he and his Pershing Square Foundation are members of the Hall of Fame’s “Founder’s Circle,” an honor given to “philanthropic leaders whose passion and devotion have preserved and sustained this historic property and institution.” But he said online he had not done so “in recent years.”
A Pershing Square representative did not respond to a request for additional details on Ackman’s relationship with the ITHOF.
After being granted a wild-card slot, Sock and Ackman lost in the first round of the Hall of Fame Open doubles tournament in Newport, R.I., 6-1, 7-5, to Australians Omar Jasika and Bernard Tomic.
Clips of Ackman’s low points on the court soon went viral, followed by complaints that he was undeserving of the stage. ITHOF enshrinee Andy Roddick called the match “the biggest joke I’ve ever watched in professional tennis.”
Ackman has offered several defenses for his lowlights. His partner wanted him to play on the side of the court he was left comfortable on, he had not previously served against a shot clock, the 1:30 p.m. sun presented its own challenges—“and to make matters worse,” Ackman wrote online on the day of the Wimbledon men’s singles final, “the other side held back making the whole thing look like a farce.”
He wrote, “Where things went wrong is that I hadn’t been beta tested in a professional tournament and my nerves got to me.” Amid the fallout, Ackman also challenged Roddick to a match.
According to the organization’s tax filings, the ITHOF generated $32.7 million in 2023 revenue, with $94.1 million in total assets.
Ackman’s offer would have sent 5% of a $10 million endowment invested in his hedge fund, Pershing Square, to the organization each year, the billionaire said on X. He asked that the money be used to promote youth interest in tennis.
“The HOF engineered one of the greatest public relations achievements in tennis history,” Ackman wrote on X. “My failure on the court contributed to its success. That sounds like a grand slam to me.”
