Jan 8 (Reuters) – Tournament organizers in Nairobi said on Thursday they made a mistake by granting a wildcard entry to a player who struggled with the basics of tennis and who went viral on social media.
Hajar Abdelkader, representing Egypt, lost to German world No. 1,026 Lorena Schaedel 6-0 6-0 in 37 minutes at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) W35 Championship on Wednesday, winning just three points and committing 20 double faults.
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The 21-year-old amateur seemed unfamiliar with how to play the sport, hitting less than one in 10 first serves and needing her opponent to guide her to the correct side of the court in a video that went viral, with some calling it the “worst ever” professional debut.
Tournament hosts Kenya Tennis Association said Abdulkader was given a last-minute wild card after another player withdrew shortly before the tournament in a bid to keep the draw intact and balanced. They said the decision was made based on information provided by players.
“In hindsight, this wild card should not have been awarded,” Tennis Kenya said in a statement on Thursday. “The federation has taken note of this experience and will ensure that this extremely rare incident does not happen again.”
The Egyptian Tennis Federation distanced itself from the disaster, telling the Daily Mail and the BBC that Abdelkader was not registered with the organization and played no role in her nomination or participation.
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They added that they had no further information about her tennis background, although her ITF profile indicated that she had been playing the sport since the age of 14.
Tennis Kenya said that due to the scope and nature of the coverage of the lopsided match, they had contacted the two players involved to offer support as part of an entry-level event to professional tennis that still awards prize money and ranking points.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
