Vivek Ramaswamy has touted himself as a former junior tennis star on the campaign trail in Ohio, but an investigation now reveals there is no evidence he ever was one.
Ramaswamy’s name never appears in the United States Tennis Association’s national junior rankings and appears only in the 2001 under-16 regional rankings, where he ranked 48th, The Athletic revealed Friday, days before Election Day.
The U.S. has 17 regional ranking pools, and the Trump-endorsed Ramaswamy, a native of Cincinnati, competed in the Midwest region.
Throughout his political career, profiles and reporting about Ramaswamy, 41, have repeatedly claimed he was a “nationally ranked junior tennis player” in many publications.
It is also used in his biography on the Soros Foundation’s website listing fellowship awardees.
The claim appears to be false, opening up Ramaswamy to being called a fraud by critics who are increasingly targeting him after he reportedly paid millions to air a vile attack ad against his Ohio gubernatorial opponent, Democrat Amy Acton.
Podcaster Pablo Torre posted a clip on X saying Ramaswamy also paid to have his Wikipedia page edited, but did not delete the claim about his tennis ranking.
The Ramaswamy campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Ramaswamy campaign also has not corrected the misleading claim, even as it has tried and failed to paint Acton as a liar. Polls released this month put Acton ahead by as much as eight points.
Last week, Ramaswamy released an attack ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother calling her daughter a liar.
The vile ad left out the crucial information that Acton had been assaulted by her stepfather as a child and that he and her mother had fled the state to avoid his indictment for raping Acton, insinuating that Acton lied about being raped as a child.
Ramaswamy contends that Acton is a liar because she lies about him. He has since stopped airing the ad after an onslaught of backlash.
Tennis national rankings are far more competitive than regional rankings.
When Ramaswamy reached his apparent high point, he was playing No. 3 singles or first doubles for St. Xavier High School, just outside Cincinnati, The Athletic reported.
His former St. Xavier tennis teammates describe Ramaswamy as a “grinder,” with one saying his style of play was “annoying.”
“The way he played, the style of play, his tactics, taking forever,” Neil Sehgal, who played No. 1 at St. Xavier’s, told The Athletic.
Ramaswamy is backed by President Donald Trump, who has a long history of boasting about his own golfing prowess, and once admitted he’d cheat on the green if the Secret Service was not there following him around.
