Nick Kyrgios Plans To Play Doubles At Futures Event With Billionaire Bill Ackman
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Nick Kyrgios could play one of the most unique contests of his life after announcing that he and well-known billionaire Bill Ackman plan to compete together.
Kyrgios has criticized tennis several times for going stale and not doing enough to attract more fans. The Australian is open to trying new things that will engage people and make them interested in watching.
Ackman is the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management and a prolific philanthropist. He is also a keen amateur tennis player and fan of the sport, which led to his interaction with Kyrgios.
Kyrgios announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he and Ackman agreed to compete together on the ITF Futures Tour on an unconfirmed date later in the year. Fans were shocked by the unexpected announcement.
"Bill Ackman and I have decided we will play doubles somewhere later in the year! See if we can win a round at the futures level!!! Any ideas where we should play?"
In a separate post on X, Ackman provided more background details. He revealed that Kyrgios reached out to him when he reposted a point of Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic playing doubles together during the season's opening week at the 2025 Brisbane International.
That led to Kyrgios offering Ackman a tennis lesson, but things went further when the businessman responded. Eventually, the pair agreed to play a match together at some point in 2025.
"I reposted an incredible Nick Kyrgios' and Novak Djokovic's doubles point, and Nick replied with an offer of a tennis lesson. I DM’d him, taking him up on the offer, and sent him some practice and doubles match videos. He then proposed that we are going to play a Futures together (and win). I signed on."
"I am going all-in on training beginning Monday when I am back from Spring Break. The bigger the crowd, the higher the probability we will win! We look forward to seeing you. The power of X."
Ackman also posted three clips of him hitting backhands, forehands, and then serving and volleying. The American had decent form with all his shots, and it's clear he does enjoy playing at an amateur level.
However, whether he will be good enough to handle the ITF Futures Circuit, the level below the ATP Challenger Tour, remains unclear. It represents a steep rise in class compared to what Ackman is used to.
Ackman is also 58 and turns 59 in May. Although doubles is much less physically straining than singles, the match will still be played at a high intensity that a man of close to 60 would do very well to adjust to.
Of course, having someone of Kyrgios' class alongside him will make Ackman's job much easier. The Australian defeated Mackenzie McDonald to win his first singles match in over two years at the 2025 Miami Open.
Kyrgios lost in the following round to Karen Khachanov. After that defeat, Kyrgios paid a warm tribute to his coach, James Frawley, and apologized to him for not being an easy person to coach.
