Former US Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to make pro tennis debut: First tournament & date revealed
Politician Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Presidential candidate, is set to make his professional tennis debut. The 39-year-old will enter the qualifying rounds of an ITF M25 event in Columbus on November 11.
Ramaswamy has been a tennis enthusiast and has shared videos of himself playing the sport in the past, and he will now compete in the qualifying rounds of an ITF event.
Ramaswamy also shared a video of himself practicing ahead of his tennis debut, with his caption reading:
"Playing my first ITF Futures qualifier round on Monday. Finding a tiny bit of time to train, despite just a *few* other things going on right now."
Ramaswamy has often commented on certain issues in tennis. For instance, in 2022, the politician criticized the decision to prevent Novak Djokovic from competing at that year's US Open despite allowing him to play in the 2021 edition.
"It makes no sense that Djokovic was able to enter America to compete in the U.S. Open in August 2021, but that he’s prohibited from defending his title this year (the Serb actually reached the final) - when he recovered from Covid within the last 9 months, and Covid health risks have improved in the meantime," Ramaswamy said.
Martina Navratilova poked fun at Vivek Ramaswamy's tennis skills
In August 2023, tennis legend Martina Navratilova reacted to a video of Vivek Ramaswamy playing the sport by mocking the latter's forehand and comparing his footwork to his politics.
"That’s one ugly forehand. I especially like the small stutter steps that take Vivek nowhere.:), I wonder if that could be an analogy for his politics," Navratilova said.
A few months back, Ramaswamy shared a video of himself training with Andre Agassi as his hitting partner. The 39-year-old said he was once a ballboy for the eight-time Grand Slam champion.
"I used to be a ball boy for @agassi , we were hitting partners today. His sage advice: the longest distance between two points is that between your mind & your heart. Bend the former to meet the latter," Vivek Ramaswamy captioned his video.
Agassi has attended quite a few tennis events so far in 2024, including the Australian Open and the US Open, where he presented Jannik Sinner with the winner's trophy.