An Egyptian tennis player whose disastrous performance in a professional tournament went viral had begged officials for the chance to play, The Telegraph can reveal.

Hajar Abdelkader, a 21-year-old wildcard entrant who lost 6-0 6-0 to German opponent Lorena Schaedel in a match lasting only 37 minutes, should never have been allowed to compete in the first place, officials have admitted.

The tennis match has been described as one of the worst in the sport’s history and questions are being asked of how someone with no professional experience was allowed to play at an International Tennis Federation (ITF)-sanctioned W35 event.

Kenya Tennis, who hosted the tournament in Nairobi, said they had granted Ms Abdelkader a wild card for week two of the tournament after she indicated that she possessed “an appropriate level of competitive playing experience”.

Ms Abdelkader was introduced to spectators and to Ms Schaedel, who is ranked No 1026 in the world, as a guest amateur player.

Footage from the match on Tuesday shows Ms Abdelkader struggling to play at a recreational level and in the warm-up had to be told by Ms Schaedel, 25, where to stand on the baseline to serve.

A source from the sporting body told The Telegraph that Ms Abdelkader had repeatedly emailed officials since December 26 with requests to compete – all of which were refused.

However the wildcard slot was then given to Ms Abdelkader when a professional Kenyan player decided to pull out.

“In hindsight, Tennis Kenya acknowledges that this wildcard should not have been granted,” said Nancy Nduku, the secretary general.

“The federation has taken note of this experience and will ensure that such an extremely rare occurrence never happens again.”

Egyptian female tennis players competing in the tournament told this newspaper that none of them had recognised Ms Abdelkade and have been left perplexed by her entry.

Ms Nduku said the decision was taken on Ms Abdelkader’s claims that she had played since the age of 14 and “in the interest of maintaining a full and balanced draw while supporting the development of tennis in Africa”.

During the match, Ms Abdelkader landed only eight per cent of her first serves and made 20 double faults.

At another point she lost control of the ball as she threw it above and behind her head for the toss before a serve, while her opponent waited patiently at the other end.

Ms Abdelkader is understood to live in Kenya and has never represented Egypt in regional tournaments.

She has kept an extremely low-profile in the aftermath of the controversy and attempts by The Telegraph to reach her for comment were unsuccessful.

“This is a young person and given the extent and nature of coverage of this match, Tennis Kenya and the ITF recognise the need to keep the wellbeing of both players as a primary consideration”, Ms Nduku said.

Both Tennis Kenya and the ITF have reached out to the two players to offer support.