Tennis Kenya admits it shouldn’t have let amateur compete after viral defeat

The organisers of a professional women’s tournament which has gone viral on social media because of a wildcard player’s dire performance have acknowledged she should not have been allowed to play.

Egyptian Hajar Abdelkader, 21, lost 6-0 6-0 and served 20 double faults during the first-round match in Nairobi on Wednesday, with the footage leaving many viewers wondering if she had ever played tennis before.

The amateur player won only three points during her 37-minute debut – two double faults by opponent Lorena Schaedel and an unforced error from the bemused German, ranked 1,026th in the world.

The match was part of an International Tennis Federation (ITF) W35 tournament, hosted by Tennis Kenya, the governing body for the sport in Kenya.

Tennis Kenya said it had reached out to both Abdelkader and Schaedel to offer its support “given the extent and nature of coverage of this match”.

Tennis Kenya said Abdelkader had applied to enter the tournament as a wildcard and had been given a space at the last minute following the withdrawal of another player.

The organisation said she was permitted to enter to maintain a balance of players and nations represented in the tournament, but said that in hindsight she should not have been allowed to play.

“The federation has taken note of this experience and will ensure that such an extremely rare occurrence never happens again,” the organisation added.

“Tennis Kenya remains committed to fairness, transparency and the integrity of competition, as well as to the continued development of tennis in Kenya, East Africa, and across Africa.”

The Egyptian Tennis Federation confirmed to the BBC Abdelkader has never been registered as an Egyptian player and had not been entered into the tournament on Egypt’s behalf.

Egyptian Tennis Federation technical director Dia Nabil Loutfy said: “We would like to clarify that she is not registered with the Egyptian Tennis Federation, nor is she included in any of our official player lists.

“Based on the information available to us, the player was previously residing in Kenya and participated in the ITF tournament in Nairobi through a wildcard granted by the Kenyan Tennis Federation.

“The Egyptian Tennis Federation had no role whatsoever, whether 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.”

The organisation said it had no records relating to Abdelkader, and said she had never been affiliated with the Egyptian Tennis Federation.