A wildcard entrant at the ITF W35 Nairobi tournament ignited widespread backlash after a first‑round match went viral for all the wrong reasons. Egyptian player Hajar Abdelkader was handed a wildcard into the event and faced Germany’s Lorena Schaedel in a match that lasted just 37 minutes and ended 6‑0, 6‑0 in Schaedel’s favour.
What shocked fans and the broader tennis community wasn’t only the scoreline, but how it unfolded. Abdelkader managed to win just three points throughout the entire match, with two of those points coming from double faults by Schaedel and the third from an unforced error, meaning she didn’t win a single point on her own merit.
Even more staggering was her serving performance: 20 double faults, with a first serve percentage of around 8.3% and only marginally better on second serves. Several serves sailed far beyond the baseline, and at times footage showed Schaedel offering basic guidance on positioning, a surreal sight in a professional contest.
The wild card entry has come under heavy criticism, with many questioning the selection process and whether players without sufficient competitive experience should be given spots in professional draws. Some spectators even speculated whether the player had little to no real match practice before the event.
The match quickly spread across social media and drew humorous and critical commentary from tennis fans and analysts, adding to the debate over wild card allocations and competitive balance in professional tennis events.
Overall, what was meant to be a routine ITF event became one of the most talked‑about oddities of early 2026 tennis, spotlighting both the unpredictability of wild card entries and the passion of global fans reacting in real time.
