Tennis Kenya, the country’s governing body for the sport, acknowledged it erred in granting Abdelkader entry [Getty]
An Egyptian tennis player has gone viral after her terrible performance in Kenya which included 20 double faults.
Videos of 21-year-old Hajar Abdelkader widely circulated on social media for her 37-minute 6-0, 6-0 defeat to world No. 1,026 Lorena Schaedel after managing to win only three points and looking at times as if she was unfamiliar with aspects of the sport.
Abdelkader is repeatedly seen missing the ball and failing to deliver, appearing confused about her positioning on the court.
People online have called it “embarrassing,” and one person said: “Strange enough, probably the most watched ITF tournament clip of all time.”
She left spectators and game professionals confused as to how she was even allowed to participate in the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) W35 tournament in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
Egyptian tennis officials deny knowing anything about Abdelkader, despite her playing under the Egyptian flag.
Based on her performance, Secretary General of Arab and Egyptian Tennis Federations Walid Sami said Abdelkader had “clearly” never played before.
“She has never played tennis before, and this is clear from the level she showed,” he told the Btolat sports news site.
“We have no connection whatsoever with the player, neither personally or professionally, and we do not know her at all,” he said.
Tennis Kenya, the country’s governing body for the sport, acknowledged it erred in granting Abdelkader entry.
“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,” it said in a statement Thursday.
The organisation’s statement said it was “aware of concerns” raised about Abdelkader’s participation.
“The slot became available following a short notice withdrawal by the originally awarded main draw wildcard recipient, who opted into the qualifying draw,” Tennis Kenya explained.
“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.”
It added: “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.”
Tennis Kenya said it and the ITF have reached out to both Abdelkader and the winner of the match, Germany’s Lorena Schaedel, “to keep the wellbeing of both players as a primary consideration.”