Tennis Kenya Admits Blunder After Wildcard Player Goes Viral Playing the Worst Match in History

Egyptian Hajar Abdelkader made her tennis debut at the W35 tournament in Nairobi, Kenya.

Tennis Kenya Admits Blunder After Wildcard Player Goes Viral Playing the Worst Match in History

Hajar Abdelkader (via Unsplash)

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The tennis world was in shock after a viral video online showed Egyptian Hajar Abdelkader struggling to serve, and her opponent, Lorena Schaedel, impassionately hitting back with a weak forehand in a W35 tournament in Kenya. Tennis Kenya has now revealed that they made a mistake by awarding Abdelkader a wildcard into the tournament.

The tournament in question is overseen by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Tournaments in the ITF are the lowest tier of the professional sport, and they award important rankings points to players who aim to play in the WTA and other tour-level events in the future, and a good prize money award.

The prize money for the champion at the W35 tournament in Nairobi is $25,000. However, what transpired in the first round match between Abdelkader and Schaedel cannot be termed a competitive tie. The Egyptian, who was making her professional debut in Kenya, earned just three points over an excruciating 37 minutes in the capital.

The 21-year-old was unable to serve properly during the match and, from simple observation, looked like she may have been standing on a tennis court for the first time. The match ended in favor of Schaedel 6-0, 6-0, a double bagel, as she made just one unforced error, while Abdelkader hit 20 double faults against the World No.1206.

In a statement from Tennis Kenya via CNN, it said that Abdelkader had been admitted to the tournament as a wild card, essentially a tournament invitation that bypass a tournament invitation bypasses the need to qualify for the main draw of a tournament or earn a place through the ranking system:

At the time, Ms. Abdelkader was the only other player who had requested a wild card. In hindsight. Tennis Kenya acknowledges that this wild card should not have been granted given the level. The federation has taken note of this experience and will ensure that such an extremely rare occurrence never happen again. Tennis Kenya remains committed to fairness, transparency and the integrity of the competition.

Hours after the match between Abdelkader and Schaedel was played, the full video was available on the ITF website. Still, it was later removed after fans on social media began to criticize the federation for fielding the 21-year-old. The ITF has yet to issue a statement on why it was removed and whether any action will be taken regarding the incident.

The Egyptian Tennis Federation says Hajar Abdelkader is not registered with them

In the limited details on the ITF player profile, Hajar Abdelkader has been playing tennis for seven years, since she was 14 years old. But in her match against Lorena Schaedel, it is hard to believe she has played the game for a year, as she seemed like a fish out of water on the court. She lacked all the technical skills of a player and couldn’t hold a racket properly.

Hajar Abdelkader
Hajar Abdelkader (via Tennis Updates)

Her display led the Egyptian Tennis Federation to reveal via a statement that Abdelkader isn’t registered with and has not been part of their official players list.

Based on the information available to us, the player is currently residing in Kenya. The Egyptian Tennis Federation had no role whatsoever directly or indirectly in the nomination, approval, or issuance of this wildcard, and we were not involved in the player’s entry into the tournament in any capacity.

However, some African journalists have noted online that the shocking performance of Abdelkader proves that corruption on the continent has deeply infiltrated the sport, making it less competitive.

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