Bill Ackman's Tennis Protege Climbs Rankings to Make Open Debut

Ackman helped finance Tiafoe's development in junior tennis
Hedge-fund billionaire was impressed with Tiafoe's potential

Bill Ackman’s Tennis Protege to Make U.S. Open Debut

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By Rob Gloster and Emmitt Henry

August 31, 2015 at 5:00 PM UTC

Updated on

September 1, 2015 at 4:00 AM UTC

Hedge-fund billionaire Bill Ackman has amassed a fortune by recognizing potential, so it made perfect sense to pledge his financial support when he saw young Frances Tiafoe on a tennis court.

That belief in , the son of a tennis center janitor who had emigrated from Sierra Leone to the U.S., is starting to pay off. Tiafoe, now 17 and ranked No. 257 on the men’s ATP tennis tour, makes his U.S. Open debut Tuesday afternoon against Viktor Troicki of Serbia, the 22nd seed.