A Kenyan Tennis Tournament Added A Wildcard Player And It Went So Wrong People Had Questions
“The federation has taken note of this experience and will ensure that such an extremely rare occurrence never happens again," Tennis Kenya said.
A Kenyan professional women’s tennis tournament has come under fire for picking a wildcard player who lost so badly it was forced to acknowledge she should not have been allowed to play.
21-year-old Egyptian amateur tennis player Hajar Abdelkader played at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) W35, hosted by Tennis Kenya, the governing body for the sport in Kenya, on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
Her first match was against German player Lorena Schaedel, who won the match in a crushing defeat.
Abdelkader lost both sets 6-0, served 20 double faults and only won three points in a match that lasted only 37 minutes.
Tennis Kenya said that Abdelkader was given a spot at the tournament as a “wild card” after a player had withdrawn at the last minute, according to BBC Sport.
It later admitted that the wild card should not have been admitted given the level of the tournament.
“The federation has taken note of this experience and will ensure that such an extremely rare occurrence never happens again," Tennis Kenya said.
According to her ITF profile, Abdelkader has been playing tennis since she was 14.
However, the Egyptian Tennis Federation said she is not a registered player and denied any involvement in her entry to ITF’s tournament.
"The Egyptian Tennis Federation had no role whatsoever, whether directly or indirectly, in the nomination, approval, or issuance of this wildcard, and we were not involved in the player's entry into the tournament in any capacity," the Egyptian Tennis Federation said.
ITF tournaments are entry-level professional tournaments that allow players to earn ranking points to higher ranking events, according to CNN.
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