Tennis Kenya has acknowledged an error in awarding a main-draw wildcard after video of Hajar Abdelkader’s performance at an ITF W35 event drew widespread attention.

The 21-year-old Egyptian lost her first-round match 6-0, 6-0 in 37 minutes, winning three points. The match footage showed persistent serving problems, including 20 double faults, and at one point she appeared to need direction on where to stand to serve.

Tennis Kenya, which is hosting the W35 tournament, issued a statement addressing concerns about the decision to grant the wildcard. The organization’s statement said it was “aware of concerns” raised about Abdelkader’s participation.

“In hindsight, Tennis Kenya acknowledges that this wildcard should not have been granted. The federation has taken note of this experience and will ensure that such an extremely rare occurrence never happens again,” it said in a statement Thursday.

The federation explained the circumstances that produced the available slot. “The slot became available following a short notice withdrawal by the originally awarded main draw wildcard recipient, who opted into the qualifying draw,” the statement said. “At the time, Ms Abdelkader was the only other player who had requested a wildcard, and the decision was taken on the information provided and in the interest of maintaining a full and balanced draw while supporting the development of tennis in Africa.”

Tennis Kenya added that the wildcard had been issued based on information provided by the player. “In this instance, Ms Abdelkader indicated that she had an appropriate level of competitive playing experience, and the wildcard was issued based on the information provided.”

The federation indicated it will use this episode to review procedures around discretionary entries. The match has prompted debate about wildcard standards and the balance between developing regional players and preserving competitive integrity at professional events.

The International Tennis Federation has announced its Class of 2025, naming Victoria Mboko, Janice Tjen, Lilli Tagger, Arnaud Bailly and Luka Mikrut among the season’s most promising breakthrough players. The selections were made by a panel and based on performances across the ITF World Tennis Tour.

Victoria Mboko, 19, capped a strong year by winning four consecutive ITF World Tennis Tour titles early in the season. She also captured a WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal and reached the third round at the French Open.

Janice Tjen, 23, compiled five straight ITF World Tennis Tour titles and produced a 27-match winning streak. At the U.S. Open she became the first Indonesian to compete in a Grand Slam main draw since 2004 and defeated No. 24 seed Veronika Kudermetova. Tjen added her first WTA Tour trophy in November.

Seventeen-year-old Lilli Tagger of Austria was the youngest WTA Tour-level finalist this season. Tagger advanced to the final in Jiujiang, China in October as a wild-card entrant.

Arnaud Bailly, 20, posted a 60-19 record in 2025 and reached nine finals. His results propelled him from No. 802 in the rankings to just outside the top 200 by season’s end.

Luka Mikrut, 21, collected four ITF World Tennis Tour titles in March and April, each of them won without dropping a set.

The ITF Class of 2025 highlights players who made notable strides on the ITF circuit and beyond during the season. The five selected reflect a mix of junior breakthrough, sustained winning runs on the ITF tour and early success at higher-level WTA events.

Italy captured a fourth Davis Cup title Sunday, completing a rare three-peat without two of its highest-ranked players. Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli supplied the decisive singles victories as Italy built an unassailable 2-0 lead over Spain in the final.

Second-ranked Jannik Sinner, who led Italy to the trophy the previous two years, opted out of this week to prepare for next season. No. 8-ranked Lorenzo Musetti also did not play. Spain was missing its top-ranked player, Carlos Alcaraz.

Berrettini opened the final by defeating Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-4. Cobolli then produced a comeback to beat Jaume Munar 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 and clinch the winning point. Cobolli has delivered the clinching victory each time this week; after his final match he dropped his racket to the ground and was lifted in the air by his Italy teammates.

Italy did not need its absent stars to prevail, winning all three of its matches 2-0 during the week at the SuperTennis Arena in Bologna. The team advanced to the title by eliminating Austria in the quarterfinals and Belgium in the semifinals.

This championship is Italy’s fourth overall and its third consecutive Davis Cup. The nation first won the competition in 1976 and added back-to-back titles in Malaga in 2023 and 2024. It is also the first time Italy has won the Davis Cup on home soil. The last country to secure three straight Davis Cup crowns was the United States, which won five in succession from 1968-72.

The Bologna final underlined Italy’s depth in a team setting, with Berrettini and Cobolli stepping up when regular leaders were absent. Their victories ensured Italy remains the dominant nation in the men’s team event for a third straight year.