Tennis Kenya admits to error in granting wildcard after Hajar Abdelkader performance goes viral

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Tennis Kenya acknowledged it erred in granting an Egyptian player entry to a professional tournament after video of her dismal performance that included 20 double faults circulated on social media.

The 21-year-old player, Hajar Abdelkader, was given a wildcard entry and lost 6-0, 6-0 in 37 minutes in a first-round match that raised questions about her level of play. She struggled with serving and court positioning.

Tennis Kenya, the governing body for the sport in the east African country, is hosting the International Tennis Federation's W35 tournament this week.

"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 organization'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."