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Tournament organisers in Nairobi said on Thursday they made a mistake in granting a wildcard entry to a player whose struggles \u200cwith the basics of tennis went viral on social media. Hajar Abdelkader, competing under an Egyptian flag, lost 6-0 6-0 to German world number \u20601,026 Lorena Schaedel in 37 minutes at an International Tennis Federation (ITF) W35 tournament on Wednesday, winning only three points and committing 20 double faults.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old amateur appeared unfamiliar with how to play the \u200bsport, landing fewer than one in 10 first serves and needing her opponent to direct her \u200dto the correct side of the court, as clips went viral with some calling it the “worst-ever” professional debut. Tennis Kenya, hosts of the event, said Abdelkader was given a last-minute wildcard after another player withdrew shortly before the tournament, \u2060looking \u200cto maintain a full \u2060and balanced draw. The decision, they said, was taken based on information provided by the player.<\/p>\n
“In hindsight, this wildcard should \u200dnot have been granted,” Tennis Kenya said in a statement on Thursday. “The federation has taken note of \u200bthis experience and will ensure that such an extremely rare occurrence never happens again.” The Egyptian \u2060Tennis Federation distanced themselves from the debacle, telling the Daily Mail and BBC that Abdelkader is not registered with the \u2060organisation and played no role in her nomination or entry.<\/p>\n
They added that they had no further information about her tennis background, despite her ITF profile stating that she has played the \u2060sport since the age of 14. Tennis Kenya said they had contacted both players involved to offer \u2060support following the extent \u200cand nature of the coverage of the lopsided match, which was part of the entry level of professional tennis where events still award prize \u2060money and ranking points. <\/p>\n
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(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)<\/p>\n
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