‘Extremely rare’ – Tennis Kenya give statement over viral tennis player as bizarre reason behind wildcard revealed

Tennis Kenya has clarified how Hajar Abdelkader received entry into an event after footage of her match went viral on social media.

The Egyptian tennis player had been granted a wildcard into the main draw of the ITF’s W35 event in Nairobi this week.

ITF

However, videos from her first round tie against Germany’s Lorena Schaedel soon raised question marks over the decision.

Abdelkader’s eligibility for the event was quickly thrown into doubt due to her ability on the court.

Footage of her attempts to serve were particularly damning, with Abdelkader ultimately producing 20 double faults in the match.

Schaedel went on to win 6-0, 6-0 in 37 minutes, with her opponent winning just three points.

Of those points, two came from double faults served by the world number 1,026.

Tennis Kenya statement

Tennis Kenya, who organised and oversaw the ITF event, have now explained how Abdelkader came to feature in the tournament.

In a statement, they explained: “Tennis Kenya is aware of concerns regarding the participation of Egyptian player Hajar Abdelkader in the ITF W35 Nairobi tournament following the circulation of a video on social media that raised questions about her level of play.

“Ms Abdelkader was granted a wildcard for Week Two of the event after submitting a formal request and she flew in on Tuesday morning.

“The slot became available following a short notice withdrawal by the originally awarded Main Draw wildcard recipient, who opted into the Qualifying draw.

“At the time, Ms Abdelkader was the only other player who had requested a wildcard, and the decision was taken on the information provided and in the interest of maintaining a full and balanced draw while supporting the development of tennis in Africa.

ITF

“In hindsight, Tennis Kenya acknowledges that this wildcard should not have been granted.

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

“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.”

They added: “In awarding wildcards, Tennis Kenya considers factors such as player development priorities, competitive balance of the draw and information provided by applicants with emphasis on Kenya, East African and African players.

“In this instance, Ms Abdelkader indicated that she had an appropriate level of competitive playing experience, and the wildcard was issued based on the information provided.

“This is a young person and given the extent and nature of the coverage of this match, Tennis Kenya and the ITF recognise the need to keep the wellbeing of both players as a primary consideration.

ITF

“Both organisations have reached out to the two players to offer support.”

Schaedel went on to lose her second round match at the tournament 6-4, 6-3 to Yufei Ren of China.

The clay court event has a total prize pool of $30,000 (£22,329) and the main draw runs through to the final on Sunday.