Nairobi. “This ‘wild card’ (invitation) should not have been granted”: the Kenyan Tennis Federation admitted its mistake this Thursday after the viral images of an Egyptian tennis player who lost by a double 6-0 in a professional tournament in Nairobi.
Hajar Abdelkader, 21, fell on Wednesday in the first round of the WTT 35 in Nairobi, a tournament he was competing in thanks to an invitation from the Kenyan Federation.
He went viral due to some videos spread on social networks in which you can see his difficulties in performing common gestures for any professional player, such as serving or moving around the court.
Despite the common practice of any competition, including the Grand Slam, of granting local players invitations to participate in these events, Hajar Abdelkader’s poor level of play caused great controversy on the networks.
According to a statement published this Thursday by Tennis Kenya, “Abdelkader obtained an invitation after having made the request properly” and to which the organization agreed after a “last minute” withdrawal from the final draw of the player who was initially granted the invitation.
“At that time, Abdelkader was the only other player who had requested an invitation,” so she participated to keep the final draw complete and “support the development of African tennis,” Tennis Kenya argued.
“In retrospect,” the Kenyan federation admits that “this ‘wild card’ should never have been granted” and assured that in the future it will work to “ensure that such a situation is not repeated.”
Contacted by AFP, the International Federation (ITF) explained that the decision to issue invitations to that tournament in Nairobi is the responsibility of Tennis Kenya.
According to the player’s profile on the ITF site, the Egyptian player played the first professional match of her career in Nairobi.
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