Tennis
Organizers of the tournament in Nairobi admitted their mistakes in awarding wild cards
Organizers of the ITF W35 tournament in Nairobi, Kenya, have admitted errors following a bizarre incident with a wildcard participant.
Egyptian Hayar Abdelkader In the match against Lorena Schadel, she failed to serve normally.
Organizers of a women’s professional tournament whose video went viral on social media due to a wildcard athlete’s appalling performance have admitted she should not have been allowed to take part in the tournament.
Hayar Abdelkader, 21, lost in the first round match of the tournament in Nairobi (0:6, 0:6) and committed 20 double faults. Video of the match led many viewers to wonder if Abdelkader ever played tennis.
The amateur tennis player won only three rallies in the 37-minute match; Two of them were due to a double serve error by her opponent Lorena Schadel, and one was due to an unforced error by the German, who is ranked 1026th in the world. The match took place in the ITF W35 series tournament and was organized by Tennis Kenya, Kenya’s national tennis federation.
Federation Tennis Kenya He said he contacted Abdelkader and Shadel to provide support “given the scope and scope of this match.” According to the organisers, Abdelkader entered the race as a wild card and received a place at the last minute after another athlete withdrew.
Tennis Kenya said: “He was allowed to take part in the tournament to maintain the balance of players and countries represented in the tournament, but in hindsight he should not have been allowed to take part. The Federation has taken this incident into consideration and will ensure that such extremely rare situations do not occur again. Tennis Kenya remains committed to the principles of fairness, transparency and competitive integrity and to the development of tennis in Kenya, East Africa and across the continent.”
The Egyptian Tennis Federation confirmed that Abdelkader was never registered as an Egyptian athlete and did not participate in the tournament on behalf of Egypt. Egyptian Tennis Federation Coach Dia Nabil Lutfi:
“We would like to clarify that he is not registered with the Egyptian Tennis Federation and is not on any of our official player lists. According to available information, the athlete has previously lived in Kenya and participated in the ITF tournament in Nairobi with a wild card provided by the Kenya Tennis Federation. The Egyptian Tennis Federation was in no way directly or indirectly involved in the nomination, approval or award of this wild card and we were not involved in the athlete’s participation in the tournament.”
The federation also said there was no record of Abdelkader and that he had no connection with the Egyptian Tennis Federation.
VIDEO. Khayar Abdelkader didn’t even know how to present: Scandal in Nairobi
Hajar Abdelkader entered a low-level tennis tournament in Africa as a wild card
He might be the worst athlete we’ve ever seen
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 7, 2026
This match took place today at W35 Nairobi. The girl’s name was Abdelkadar and she was a wild card holder. Since he doesn’t even know which side to serve from and looks like it’s his first time playing tennis, I thought someone should troll this by buying his toilet. We won 3 points… pic.twitter.com/3atLq77nwf
— Budy🇨🇿🎾 (@budybet) January 7, 2026
Video recording of the match
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
January 25 Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina (WTA 12) The Australian Open will continue to be competed in 2026.
In the fourth round, the Ukrainian player will play against the seventh neutral racket in the world Mirra Andreeva. The fight will start at 12.00 Kyiv time in Rod Laver Arena.
The best moments of tennis matches LIVE on Telegram channel Tennis on Sport.ua
This will be the second head-to-head meeting between the rivals. The score is 1:0 in Andreeva’s favor.
The winner of the fight will face Coco Gauff or Carolina Muchova in the quarter-finals.
Broadcast video player will be added later…
DAY CALENDAR
TOURNAMENT TABLE
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
Elina Svitolina (WTA 12) will face Mirra Andreeva (WTA 7) in the fourth round of the Australian Open on January 25.
The match is scheduled to start at 12:00 Kyiv time.
Sport.ua together with a betting partner bet announcing the upcoming fight!
Elina Svitolina
The Ukrainian athlete started this season brilliantly and currently has a streak of eight wins in official tournaments. Svitolina has already won the title in Auckland but she needs to perform well at the majors.
In the first round, the athlete defeated Spaniard Krystyna Buksha with scores of 6:4, 6:1, then defeated the young Polish player Linda Klimovichova with scores of 7:5, 6:1. The most difficult was the last match against the “neutral” Diana Schneider – 7:6, 6:3, in this match there were up to nine breaks. Svitolina won the last fight with her experience, made a little less mistakes, won a little more and finally put the finishing touches on her opponent.
The best performance at the Australian Open was in the quarter-finals; This was achieved three times, thus putting the tennis player one step away from repeating his personal best. If successful, Elina will compete with the winner of the Gauff-Mukhova pairing.
Mirra Andreeva
The “neutral” team also starts the season well but rarely behaves with dignity on the field. Andreeva reached the quarter-finals in Brisbane, where she deservedly lost to Marta Kostyuk in two sets. Later, the athlete managed to win the championship in Adelaide, beating Canadian Mboko in the final.
The tennis player is 18 years old and is not bothered by his busy schedule. Despite its place in the top 10, it lacks emotional stability. Andreeva started this tournament with a tough win against Donna Vekic – 4:6, 6:3, 6:0, then beat Greek Maria Sakkari 6:4, 6:0 and in the last match she beat Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6:3, 6:4. At the Australian Major the neutral team never advanced beyond the fourth round.
personal meetings
The tennis players played each other only once; The match took place in the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells tournament in March last year. Andreeva then won with scores of 7:5 and 6:3.
To guess
Bookmakers give a slight advantage to the “neutral”, which is explained by the fact that it is higher in the rankings and is also 13 years younger. Svitolina’s motivation will be very high in such a match.
I don’t think the winner will be determined quickly, so I’m betting on 1.76 out of 21.5 games in total.
Elina Svitolina01/25/2026 –
12:00
Mirra Andreeva 1.76 place a bet KRAIL License No. 559 dated 12/05/2024 Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
On January 25, the 1/8 singles finals as well as the first round matches of the junior tournaments will begin at the 2026 Australian Open.
On Sunday, Elina Svitolina will play in Melbourne and three Ukrainian teenagers will also start: Nikita Belozertsev, Polina Sklyar, Antonina Sushkova, Sofia Belinskaya.
Svitolina’s fight. Match schedule of Ukrainians at the Aus Open on January 25
Australian Open 2026. Singles, 1/8 final
Rod Laver Arena. 2nd start of the night session (cannot be before 12:00)
Elina Svitolina [12] – Mirra Andreeva [8]
Australian Open 2026. Juniors. Singles, 1/32 final
Court No. 14. 1. Launch (cannot be before 01:00)
Nikita Belozertsev [6] – Aaro Gabet [Q]
Court No. 8. 3. Launch (cannot be before 04:00)
Antonina Sushkova – Zhang Qian Wei
Court No. 12. 3. Launch (cannot be before 04:00)
Polina Sklyar [Q] – Teresa Germanova
Court No. 6. 5. Launch (Cannot be before 07:00)
Sofia Belinskaya – Emily Chen [WC]
Australian Open 2026. Juniors. Doubles, 1/32 final
Court No. 14. 5. Launch (Cannot be before 07:00)
Nikita Belozertsev / Jamie Mackenzie- Ymerali İbrahimi / Cooper Pouch [WC]
Court No. 14. 6. Launch (cannot be before 08:30)
Polina Sklyar / Aishi Das- Mariella Tamm / Zhang Rui’en [6]
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
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