Aug 8, 2025; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Danielle Collins (USA) serves against Taylor Townsend (USA) during the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
Aug 8, 2025; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Danielle Collins (USA) serves against Taylor Townsend (USA) during the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
Danielle Collins Goes Ballistic Over Jaw-Dropping Nairobi Wildcard Chaos
Danielle Collins, a former Australian Open finalist, has sharply criticized the International Tennis Federation (ITF) after a controversial video from a pro tournament surfaced online. Collins shared the video on her social media story, writing,
“Absolutely mind-blowing that this can happen at a ‘pro’ level event. What are we doing @itftennis?”
The video, which was initially posted by the social media account ‘Christian’s Court, features a wildcard player at the ITF W35 tournament in Nairobi, Kenya, who appears unfamiliar with the sport and its rules.
The player identified in the video was 21-year-old Hajar Abdelkader from Egypt, who lost her match 6-0, 6-0 against Germany’s Lorena Scheidel, winning just three points in the entire game.
Screenshot from Danielle Collins’ story on Instagram
Like Collins, Christian didn’t hold back from voicing his angst at the sight of the disastrous game and asked ITF to step in and take some stark actions.
“Yesterday marked the debut of arguably the worst pro tennis player ever. 21-year-old HajarAbdelkader from Egypt competed in an ITFW 35 in Nairobi, Kenya against Germany’s Lorena Scheidel…Scheidel won 6-0, 6-0 in 37 minutes. And it wasn’t like it wasa bad day at the office for Abdelkader. She just didn’t know how to play tennis,” said Christian.
“The woman looked like it was her first time ever picking up a tennis racket. She looked like she just wentto Walmart, got one of those kiddie rackets, and said, let’s ball. Just look at these serves, y’all. No words, no words. Mind you, this is a pro tennis tournament,” he added.
“I don’t know how this happened, but it was an intentional decision, believe it or not. It was not a mistake. Abdelkader was awarded a wild card into the main draw. The ITF, they need to step in,” Christian concluded.
Collins has been an active speaker on women’s tennis and professional events, and while she is currently taking a break from the circuit events, she rarely holds back from speaking her mind on hot topics of discussion.
Danielle Collins Makes Her Broadcasting Debut On Tennis Channel
Speaking as a special invitee on the TC Live broadcast, Collins expressed her gratitude towards the show’s host for inviting her to the discussion. The American then addressed some personal reasons for her inactivity in the Australian swing at the time.
Furthermore, Collins also stated that she was still recovering from her back injury and needed time to fully heal before charting a plan for her return to the WTA circuit.
Collins is currently active in both singles and doubles disciplines. The American’s most recent game was at the US Open last year, where she lost her first-round match against Jaqueline Cristian in straight sets.
