“That shouldn’t have happened”
Bizarre tennis match with German association reacts
January 9, 2026 – 1:11 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
A W35 tournament in women’s tennis usually does not receive much attention. But the match in Nairobi between an Egyptian and a German is making headlines. The reason is bizarre.
A 37-minute match without any real resistance, plus videos that left people shaking their heads around the world: After a bizarre appearance by the Egyptian Hajar Abdelkader in the first round of a W35 tennis tournament in Nairobi, the organizer has now admitted a mistake.
Abdelkader, who slipped into the main draw with a wildcard, lost 0:6, 0:6 to the 25-year-old German Lorena Skull, who is ranked 1024th in the world. Videos spread on social networks in which the player appeared visibly overwhelmed when serving. In total, she made 20 double faults and only scored three points – two of them from her opponent’s double faults, one from an unforced error.
W35 tournaments are part of the second-tier ITF tour, which is located below the WTA tour. The tournament winners receive 35 world ranking points. A total of around 26,000 euros ($30,000) in prize money will be awarded in this category.
In a statement, the Kenyan Tennis Association was insightful: “In retrospect, Tennis Kenya admits that this wildcard should not have been awarded. The association has taken note of this incident and will ensure that such an extremely rare case never occurs again.” The authenticity of the statement was confirmed to the dpa.
The wildcard was originally intended for another player who withdrew at short notice. “Ms Abdelkader was the only other player who had requested a wildcard at the time,” Tennis Kenya said. The decision was also made with the aim of supporting “the development of tennis in Africa”.
According to the association, Abdelkader stated that he had sufficient competition experience. This information was the basis for the award. But the Egyptian Tennis Association has now clearly contradicted this. Technical director Dia Nabil Loutfy told the BBC: “We have not played any role, directly or indirectly, in the nomination, approval or issuance of this wildcard.” Abdelkader was never registered as a player for the association and was not reported on behalf of Egypt.