A Billionaire Played a Pro Tennis Match. Andy Roddick is Furious

Bill Ackman, the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, made his professional tennis debut at the Hall of Fame Open doubles tournament in Newport, Rhode Island.

The 59-year-old hedge fund manager has a net worth of nearly $10 billion, and he played with American professional Jack Sock against Bernard Tomic and Omar Jasika.

Ackman is a massive tennis fan and a member of the board for the Professional Tennis Players Association, but it was clear that he was out of his depth while playing against seasoned professionals.

The billionaire made several unforced errors in the match, leading to an easy win for Tomic and Jasika.

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Former World No. 1 and US Open champion Andy Roddick reacted to the match on his podcast, and he didn't hold back.

"It [the game] was a disaster.... This was beneath the Hall of Fame, in my opinion. It's nothing personal against Bill Ackman, he can do what he wants," Roddick said on his show "Served."

"If his dream was to do it and someone's gonna let him do it. I mean, it's not his fault, I don't blame him, right. Someone has to say yes to this.... It was rough."

Roddick added that the match was "hard to watch" and that it was "breaking my heart a little bit" to see it take place at the Hall of Fame.

Others from around the tennis world shared their opinions, and many agreed with Roddick's assessment.

"I just watched the absolute worst professional tennis match I have ever seen," said author and U.S. Open press officer Randy Walker.

"These publicity WCs [wild cards] should not happen. Give spots to players who earn it, not bought their way in," said the Tennis Weekly podcast.

Ackman's future in tennis is still unclear, but it's obvious that he'll need to do more work before making another attempt to play against professionals.

Fans around the world are tuned into the best players on the planet this week at Wimbledon in London. Ackman's disastrous debut is grabbing headlines, but the play of stars like Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek is on the mind of true tennis fans all over the globe.