Overview
- Unranked Egyptian wildcard Hajar Abdelkader, 21, lost 6-0, 6-0 to Germany’s Lorena Schaedel in 37 minutes at the ITF W35 event in Nairobi.
- Reports said Abdelkader won only three points and committed around 20 double faults, landing roughly 8.3% of first serves.
- Short clips of the match on X drew more than a million views, with widespread criticism of the standard on display and how the entry was granted.
- Vero Beach Futures director Randy Walker publicly called for scrutiny and tagged the International Tennis Integrity Agency, while other figures questioned the organizers’ judgment.
- Coverage highlighted the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program’s ban on paying for wildcards, noted the W35 Nairobi event’s $30,000 purse and ranking points, and reported no announced ITIA/ITF action despite media requests for comment.