A very special tennis match is currently causing people to shake their heads online – and justifications from the association. At the small W35 tournament in Nairobi, the Egyptian wildcard player Hajar Abdelkader competed against the German Lorena Skull – and lost 0:6, 0:6. But it wasn’t just the result, but the way it was done that caused a stir.
Organizer admits mistakes
Now the Kenyan Tennis Association admits the mistake: “In retrospect, Tennis Kenya admits that this wildcard should not have been awarded,” says an official statement. They will ensure “that such an extremely rare case never occurs again.”
Dominic Thiem – his life
In a video that has gone viral, you can see Abdelkader standing on the pitch with a wobbly ball throw and completely overwhelmed. She made a total of 20 double faults and was only able to score three points in total – two of them due to her opponent’s double faults, one due to a slight mistake. Viewers online wondered if she had ever held a racket before. Some even doubted the authenticity of the clip.
Egyptian association distances itself
Another player was originally scheduled to start in the main field – but she canceled at short notice. Abdelkader was the only one who had applied for a wildcard. The association wanted to “promote the development of African tennis.” A shot that backfired badly.
Even more curious: According to the Egyptian Tennis Association, Abdelkader was not officially registered as an Egyptian player. They had “nothing to do directly or indirectly” with their wildcard, said technical director Dia Nabil Loutfy to the BBC. Abdelkader himself told the organizers that he had “sufficient competition experience”.
