Tennis Kenya has formally acknowledged its misjudgment in awarding a wildcard entry to Egyptian player Hajar Abdelkader, whose profoundly uncompetitive performance during an ITF W35 tournament in Nairobi has sparked widespread criticism and viral social media attention.
The match, played on Wednesday, saw Abdelkader suffer a crushing 6-0, 6-0 defeat to Germany’s Lorena Schaedel, who is herself ranked 1,026th globally. The contest lasted merely 37 minutes, during which the Egyptian amateur managed to secure only three points—all resulting from her opponent’s errors. Abdelkader’s performance was notably marred by 20 double faults, raising serious questions about her competitive readiness and background in the sport.
In an official statement, Tennis Kenya explained that the wildcard was granted at the last minute to maintain player and nation representation following another competitor’s withdrawal. The federation conceded that, in retrospect, this decision was a significant error in judgment that compromised the tournament’s competitive standards. “The federation has taken note of this experience and will ensure that such an extremely rare occurrence never happens again,” the statement read, reaffirming its commitment to “fairness, transparency and the integrity of competition.”
Further complicating the situation, the Egyptian Tennis Federation has completely distanced itself from the player. Technical Director Dia Nabil Loutfy confirmed to the BBC that Hajar Abdelkader is not and has never been registered with their federation, possesses no official player status, and that Egypt had no involvement—direct or indirect—in her application or acceptance into the Nairobi tournament. Loutfy suggested Abdelkader was likely residing in Kenya and applied for the wildcard independently through the local organizing body.
The incident has ignited a broader discussion on wildcard allocation processes in professional tennis, particularly at the ITF level, and the necessity of upholding minimum competitive standards to protect the sport’s integrity.