Khaberni - A match in the Nairobi International Tennis Tournament became a broad topic of discussion in the global media after the Egyptian player Hajar Abdel Qader sparked an unprecedented wave of controversy, following her appearance in her first professional match, a meeting described by observers as one of the strangest matches in the history of the sport.
The British "Daily Mail" described her as one of the worst players in tennis history, in an extensive report that questioned how she made it to a professional tournament including players within the top 500 globally, especially since ITF tournaments, despite being the lowest level before WTA andATP tours, feature high competition and include players aiming to improve their rankings or return after injuries.
The newspaper clarified: "Hajar, aged 21, participated in a W35 category tournament with prize money amounting to 22 thousand British Pounds, having received a wildcard, but she lost to German Lorenza Scheidle, ranked 1026 globally, with a score of 6-0 and6-0 in a match that lasted only 37 minutes, and featured shocking numbers on all levels."
It added: "The Egyptian player only garnered three points throughout the match, two of which came due to direct errors from her opponent, while she failed to score any real points from her first serve, which had a success rate of only 8.3 percent. She committed 20 double faults, and in more than one scene seemed unsure of her standing position during the serve."
It continued, "Hajar's performance on the court, alongside her racket handling and her awkward attempts at receiving, led many followers to question her competitive experience, although her official page on the International Tennis Federation mentions that she has been playing the game since she was 14 years old.
It went on: "The questions extended to the method of awarding the wildcard, especially considering the strict regulations imposed by the tennis corruption prevention program, which strictly prohibits the sale or exploitation of wildcards for any financial gain or benefit, and restricts their issuance solely to organizational decisions of the organizing body."
It elaborated: "According to circulated information, Hajar received the wildcard after a Kenyan player withdrew shortly before the tournament began, prompting the organizing body, represented by the Kenya Tennis Association, to urgently assign the vacant spot without additional explanations regarding the technical criteria of the selection."
And it concluded: "The incident opened a broad discussion regarding the mechanisms of issuing free cards, the standards for protecting the integrity of competition, in addition to the responsibility of national federations in preparing and qualifying players before throwing them into international arenas, lest the sports experience becomes a subject of mockery or controversy, instead of being a real step in the path of professional development."
