Bizarre appearance at a tennis tournament: the player only scores three points

Hajar Abdelkader: 20 double faults and only three points

Videos of the match circulated on the Internet, raising doubts as to whether Abdelkader had ever played tennis before. “In hindsight, Tennis Kenya admits that this wildcard should not have been awarded. The association has taken note of this incident and will ensure that such a extremely rare case “never happen again,” said a statement from the Kenyan association, the authenticity of which was confirmed to the dpa. The AP news agency had previously reported, among others.

Even the shaky throw of the ball on serve showed the loser highly amateurish out, overall she afforded herself 20 double faults. Abdelkader only scored three points – due to two double faults and an unforced error by her opponent, who is ranked 1026th in the world.

Match lasted 37 minutes

Some users wondered how the completely one-sided game could last 37 minutes. Others wondered if the video was even real.

“Ms Abdelkader stated that she had sufficient competitive experience and the wildcard was issued to her based on this information,” Tennis Kenya said. However, the Egyptian Tennis Association confirmed the BBCthat Abdelkader never registered as an Egyptian player and was not registered for the tournament on behalf of Egypt. They played “neither directly nor indirectly any role in the nomination, approval or issuance of this wildcard,” said the technical director of the Egyptian Tennis Association, Dia Nabil Loutfy.

Another player was intended for wildcard

Another player was initially scheduled for the wildcard, but she canceled her start in the main field at short notice. “Ms Abdelkader was the only other player who had requested a wildcard at the time,” Tennis Kenya stated. The promise also wanted to promote “the development of tennis in Africa”.