ITF responds to chaotic wildcard incident in Nairobi

The ITF has spoken out following a wildcard that went viral at an ITF tournament, after the alarming performance of Hajar Abdelkader, who won just three points in her first-round match in Nairobi.

The unusual situation took place at a W35-level tournament, where an apparently amateur player was allowed to compete after receiving a wildcard from the organisers.

The episode was so striking that officials reportedly had to instruct the player where to stand to serve, and she committed a total of 20 double faults. Of the three points she won, two came from double faults by her opponent, while the third resulted from an unforced error by her rival, Lorena Schadel. The match ended in a 6–0, 6–0 defeat in just 37 minutes, sparking widespread criticism over the criteria used to award wildcards.

Tennis Kenya had previously stated that Abdelkader should not have been authorised to play, but explained that a last-minute wildcard was issued following the withdrawal of one of their original wildcard recipients. "At the time, Ms Abdelkader was the only other player who had requested a wildcard," Tennis Kenya said in a statement on ⁠Thursday. "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."

"In hindsight, 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."

In response, the International Tennis Federation described the situation in Nairobi as “unacceptable”, according to comments made by an ITF spokesperson to Tennis Kenya, as reported by Reuters, and said it will look for ways to ensure such cases do not happen again.

“As the Tournament Operator and National Association, Tennis Kenya had understood that Ms Abdelkader was of an appropriate standard to compete. The outcome showed this was clearly not the case and was unacceptable for a World Tennis Tour event, along with being unfortunate for the player,” an ITF spokesperson said.

“We acknowledge proportionate measures must be taken to prevent this happening again. We are exploring ways to ensure that, by assessing the process of awarding wildcards with consideration to a minimum playing standards requirement to compete at a WTT event.”

The World Tennis Tour comprises more than 1,250 events across over 75 countries, providing competitive opportunities for around 11,000 players worldwide, with entry-level tournaments offering prize money and ranking points.