Egyptian Hajar Abdelkader, who received a Wild Card from the organizers of the W35 tournament, played in the first round against German tennis player Lorena Schedel, ranked 1026th in the world ranking. Of particular interest to observers was the fact that 21-year-old Abdelkader took to the court against a professional athlete, lacking basic tennis skills and facing difficulties with positioning on the court. She realized only three serves and made 20 double faults. As a consequence, the Egyptian failed to win a single game and lost 0:6, 0:6 in 37 minutes.
The Kenya Tennis Federation, which organized the tournament, reported that the Egyptian was granted a Wild Card “after notification from the original invitee of her withdrawal from the tournament”. It was also reported that the issuance of the special invitation was based on information provided by the applicant, Hajar Abdelkader. The organizers said that in making the decision they were guided by “the interest of developing tennis in Africa and maintaining a full and balanced line-up of participants.”
After video clips of episodes of the meeting were widely viewed by the sporting public, the organizers regretted their decision. “In hindsight, we recognize that this Wild Card should not have been granted. The Federation has taken note of this case and will take all necessary measures to ensure that such an extremely rare phenomenon never happens again,” the British publication “The Guardian” quoted the organizers as saying.
The Egyptian Tennis Federation was quick to deny its involvement in granting Wild Card to the inexperienced tennis player. A statement was published in social networks, saying that Hajar Abdelkader is not registered in the national federation. As it turned out, the Egyptian played her first professional match in Nairobi.
The practice of granting Wild Cards to tennis players is widespread, including at Grand Slam and WTA tournaments. And the organizers, as a rule, are careful in selecting those who get into the main draw of the tournament bypassing the qualifying round. Incompetent approach of the tournament organizers in Kenya to issuing a special invitation to an athlete, whose level does not correspond to the professional status of the competition, may prompt the ITF to significantly tighten the procedure. In particular, a supervisor delegated by the International Tennis Federation to the tournament may be involved in the selection of Wild Card holders.
