WATCH: Who is the tennis star who double faulted 20 times in bizarre 37-minute loss?
It is not often that a W35 match from the ITF Tour becomes the most talked-about match in tennis, but the contest between Hajar Abdelkader and Lorena Schaeder appears to be no ordinary showdown.
Footage of the bizarre and, quite frankly, ridiculous contest between the two has gone viral online and has made significant headlines both in and out of the sport, capturing an extraordinary amount of attention — purely because of how ridiculous the whole contest was.
Here, we look at the bizarre stats and scenarios behind the match, and try to unpack what on earth was happening in Nairobi.
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What happened?
On the outset, the match stats make for grim reading from Abdelkader’s perspective, with the player beaten pretty handily on the court.
It took just 37 minutes for her to taste defeat, hitting 20 double faults and winning just three points against Schaeder, a 25-year-old player from Germany.
However, footage of the match makes the contest all the more ridiculous.
Clips of the match shared online show Abdelkader barely able to toss the ball correctly on her serve, and then almost completely unable to hit a serve to any ability.
The full match, which is available to watch in full here, shows that these clips are far from an isolated incident; this was a common theme throughout the entire match.
Who is Hajar Abdelkader?
All this begs the following question: Who is Abdelkader, and how did she get a wildcard into an ITF Tour event?
In reality, little is actually known about her, though there is some public information available.
Abdelkader’s official ITF profile lists her as a 21-year-old from Egypt, who reportedly first started playing tennis back in 2014.
However, there is no evidence of her playing a professional tennis match — or even attempting to play a match — previously, adding further confusion and intrigue to the situation.
In contrast, opponent Schaedel has an official WTA Ranking of world No 1,026, as of January 5, 2026, and has an ITF singles ranking of 403.
As of now, there has been no explanation as to how Abdelkader received a wildcard into the event.
Various theories have been posted and shared online by tennis fans — ranging from the tournament directors losing a bet, to Abdelkader somehow buying her way into the event.
However, this mystery is likely to stay unsolved for a while.
Shoutout to Hajar Abdelkader who entered the ITF draw in Nairobi and appears to be playing tennis for the first time ever
She won three points all match!
— Barstool Tennis (@StoolTennis) January 7, 2026
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