A tennis player's professional debut at an International Tennis Federation (ITF) event has sparked viral disbelief and serious questions after she managed to win just three points in a comprehensive 37-minute defeat.
A Baffling Performance on the Clay
Egypt's Hajar Abdelkader, 21, entered the ITF W35 tournament in Nairobi via a wildcard, a privilege usually reserved for promising local talent. Her first-round match against Germany's world number 1026, Lorena Schaedel, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, proved to be a painfully one-sided affair.
Dressed in a black t-shirt and leggings rather than conventional tennis attire, Abdelkader appeared lost on the dusty clay court. Her service action was unorthodox, with serves often launched high into the humid air only to miss their mark entirely. She committed a staggering 20 double faults and at times seemed uncertain of where to position herself for the serve.
The match concluded with a 6-0, 6-0 'double bagel' scoreline in just 37 minutes. Astonishingly, Abdelkader won only three points in the entire contest. Two of those points came from double faults by her opponent, Schaedel. The solitary point she actively won herself occurred when a return of hers prompted Schaedel to hit a forehand long.
Questions Over Wildcard Allocation
The nature of the performance has ignited a fierce debate about how Abdelkader received a wildcard into the $30,000 prize money event. The ITF World Tennis Tour, while the sport's third tier, still offers significant ranking points and financial reward, with over £22,000 available to the winner in Nairobi.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) strictly prohibits the sale of wildcards at any level of professional tennis. Its Tennis Anti-Corruption Program explicitly states that no person shall "offer, pay or accept money, benefit or Consideration for the provision of a wildcard to an Event."
Wildcards are intended to foster development by giving access to tournaments for players from the host region who show potential but lack the ranking to qualify directly. According to her ITF profile, Abdelkader has played tennis since age 14, but this was her first-ever tour-level match.
Integrity and Future Scrutiny
The footage of the match, shared widely on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), showed a player struggling with the most fundamental aspects of the game. Observers noted her uneasy grip on the racquet and a first-serve success rate of just 8.3 per cent. When attempting to return serve, she frequently missed the ball completely.
This incident places tournament organisers under the spotlight, prompting scrutiny of their wildcard selection process. The stark gulf in standard has led fans and commentators to label it one of the most inept performances ever witnessed in professional tennis.
Daily Mail Sport has contacted the director of the Nairobi W35 tournament for comment on the criteria used to award Abdelkader her wildcard entry. The event continues, but the fallout from this 37-minute match is likely to linger much longer.
