Hajjar Abdelkader: International Tennis Federation to review wildcard eligibility after virus manifestations
“It turns out that this is clearly not the case and is unacceptable for the World Tennis Tour and unfortunate for the players,” the spokesman added.
“We acknowledge that steps must be taken to prevent this from happening again. We are exploring ways to ensure this by reviewing the process for awarding wild cards and considering the minimum playing standard requirements for participation in WTT events.”
On Thursday, Tennis Kenya acknowledged that Abdelkader should not have been allowed to compete but said she was given a last-minute wildcard spot after another player withdrew.
The organization said it allowed her to compete in order to maintain a balance between contestants and the country, but in hindsight she should not have been allowed to compete.
Both Abdulkader and Shaidl have the support of Tennis Kenya “given the scope and nature of the coverage of this match”.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian Tennis Federation said it had no records linking Abdelkader and said she had never had any relationship with the organization.
