My Sports Angela Okutoyi shifts focus to US Open
Kenyan professional tennis player Angella Okutoyi. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]
| https://www.standardmedia.co.ke | By Washington Onyango
No one had seen this coming. Not even the queen herself; Angela Okutoyi. ships. Finally, she’s part of an enviable history. A history that most of her age The US Open Junior Tennis Championships are scheduled for August 29 mates only dream of. to September 11, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre. At last, she’s delighted to have put Kenya on the global map, tennis speak- Okutoyi now surpasses history made by two other Kenyans who have ing, after her history making performance in England, where she became competed at Wimbledon; Christian Vitulli and Paul Wekesa. the first Kenyan to win a Grand Slam title at the girls’ juniors Wimbledon event, where she partnered with Dutch Rose Marie Nijkamp. Vitulli reached boys’ doubles quarterfinals in 2006, while Wekesa was eliminated in men’s singles first round in 1996. Undoubtedly, Kenya is known for its unmatched athletics prowess, with notable names that like Eliud Kipchoge, David Rudisha and Ferdinand Okutoyi grabbed the headlines on Friday after becoming the first evOmanyala... er-Kenyan player to make it to the finals of a Grand Slam tournament. However, the narrative is slightly starting to take a turn if Okutoyi’s recent Okutoyi and Nijkamp came from behind in both sets to knock out thirdexploits are anything to go by. seed Lucija Ciric Bagaric (Croatia) and Nikola Daubnerova (Slovakia) 6-3, 6-4 on the grass courts of All England Lawn Tennis Club to qualify for the The former African Under-18 champion is a girl on a mission, no doubt. final. Okutoyi, who is a member of the Grand Slam Player Development Programme/ITF Touring Team, and Nijkamp, defeated Canadian pair of Victoria Mboko and Kayla Cross 3-6 4-6 (11-9) in the final of Wimbledon Open doubles Junior Championships at the grass courts of All England Lawn Tennis Club.
Her star started to rise in 2018, after she became the youngest player to win the Kenya Open, then aged 14, after upsetting the experienced threetime former champion Shufaa Changawa 6-1, 7-6 at Nairobi Club.
In the same year, she won the Africa Junior Championship on Clay Court (AJCCC) Under-14 singles in Algeria before following it up with singles The duo started the final on the back foot after losing the first set 6-3 to and doubles triumphs at the ITF East African Under-18 Junior Circuit, the Canadians. ITF Nairobi Junior Open and Eastern Africa Zonal Championships Under-16 in 2019. They recovered in the second set, winning it 6-4. The Kenya seed one and the Dutch then sealed victory with an 11-9 triumph in the tiebreaker She was crowned 2021 Africa Junior Champion later on, before reaching against the fourth-seeded Canadians. new landmarks this year. Speaking to Standard Sports, Okutoyi expressed her delight after she In May, Okutoyi made history after progressing to the second round of the achieved one of her dreams of winning an international title. JA Roland Garros (French Open Juniors). “I feel great and happy to have represented Kenyans well. I would like to The former Africa Under-18 champion became the first Kenya to win a thank everyone for their support as we continue to grow,” posed Okutoyi grand slam match at the French Open. through a telephone interview. Okutoyi defeated 17-year-old Belgian Amelie Van Impe 7-6, 6-4 in the Okutoyi now turns her focus to the US Open Junior Tennis Champion- round of 64.
TT 160 | July 12th - July 18th| 2022 The Times Today is a publication of Elizabeth Omondi Consultancy. P.O. Box 833-00100 GPO Nairobi. Tel: 0722 927792. www.elizabethomondiconsultancy.com
