Hager Abdel Qader: The International Tennis Federation reviews wildcard entries after viral performance

The spokesman added: “The result clearly showed that this is not the case and is unacceptable on the World Tennis Tour, as well as being unfortunate for the player.”

“We recognize that proportionate measures must be taken to prevent this from happening again. We are exploring ways to ensure this, by evaluating the process for awarding wildcards taking into account the minimum playing standards requirements to compete in a WTT event.”

The Tennis Kenya Federation acknowledged on Thursday that Abdelkader should not have been allowed to play, but said she was given a place on a wild card at the last minute after another player withdrew.

The organization said it was allowed to enter to maintain a balance of players and countries represented in the tournament, but said that in hindsight it should not have been allowed to play.

Both Abdelkader and Shadel have received support from the Tennis Kenya Federation “given the volume and nature of coverage of this match”.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian Tennis Federation said it had no records related to Abdelkader, and said she was not affiliated with the organization at all.