Sports Updates: A tennis player played so poorly that it went viral. Tournament organizers say they should have never let it happen

Source:

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/08/sport/tennis-kenyan-tournament-goes-viral

ChatGPT:

A first-round match at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) W35 tournament in Nairobi, Kenya, unexpectedly went viral after one player delivered an extraordinarily poor performance. The clay-court match ended in a routine-looking 6–0, 6–0 victory for Germany’s Lorena Schaedel, but the spotlight fell on her opponent, 21-year-old Egyptian Hajar Abdelkader, whose struggles made the 37-minute contest painful to watch and widely mocked online.

Observers noted that Abdelkader appeared unfamiliar with even basic aspects of the game. She committed 20 double faults, won only three points—each due to her opponent’s errors—and at times seemed unsure where to stand while serving. The performance led many to question how she had been allowed to compete at a professional tournament, even at the ITF level, which is the lowest rung of the professional circuit but still carries world ranking points and a total prize purse of US$25,000.

Tennis Kenya later confirmed to CNN Sports that Abdelkader had entered the tournament via a wild card, granted after she formally requested one and another player withdrew at short notice. As she was the only remaining wild-card applicant at the time, organizers allowed her into the main draw to keep it full. However, Tennis Kenya admitted that, in hindsight, the wild card should not have been granted given her apparent playing standard.

Adding to the confusion, the Egyptian Tennis Federation stated that Abdelkader is not registered with them and that they played no role in her nomination or entry. Although Abdelkader’s ITF profile claims she has played tennis for seven years, many viewers found this difficult to reconcile with what they saw on court.

The viral reaction ranged from disbelief to ridicule, with criticism that her inclusion may have deprived a legitimate professional of an opportunity. Tennis Kenya has since acknowledged the incident as a mistake, pledged safeguards to prevent a repeat, and said it has reached out to both players to offer support. The match video has since been removed from the ITF website.

Comments:

Haha.