It could easily have been a tennis match that nobody really noticed. Instead, it became instantly viral online.
The first round of the International Tennis Federation’s W35 tournament, played on a clay court in Nairobi, Kenya, wouldn’t normally make much of a splash in the tennis world, but millions of people have now seen what transpired over 37 excruciating minutes in the capital.
The score of the match wasn’t unusual, a 6-0, 6-0 win for Germany’s Lorena Schaedel; what was conspicuous was the performance of her opponent, the 21-year-old Egyptian Hajar Abdelkader, on what seems to have been her professional debut. But as some observers on social media have pointed out, it looked like it may have been the first time she had ever stood on a tennis court.
New details are now emerging about how Abdelkader found herself to be hopelessly out of her depth in a professional tournament and at the mercy of tennis commentators everywhere. In a statement to CNN Sports, Tennis Kenya said that Abdelkader had been admitted to the tournament as a wild card – essentially a tournament invitation that bypasses the need to qualify for the main draw of a tournament or earn a place through the rankings system.
The organization said she submitted a formal request for the wild card and had flown into Nairobi on Tuesday morning. A tournament slot became available when another player withdrew on short notice and opted into the qualifying draw.
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