CS Amina pledges gov't support for trailblazing Okutoyi

CS Amina Mohamed and Angela Okutoyi

Sports Cabinet Secretary Amb Amina Mohamed (left) gifts tennis sensation Angela Okutoyi at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Nairobi, on February 3, 2022.

Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Okutoyi made history on January 25 when she became the first Kenyan player to go past the second round of the Australian Open juniors’ championships
  • Mohammed added that plans to build a high performance training center for tennis players at Kasarani Stadium are underway
  • The 18-year-old Okutoyi, who is a debuting in the Grand Slam events, is set to leave for Egypt in a week’s time to compete in the all-women’s 15k tournaments in Sharm Elsheikh from February 14-March 6

Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed has assured Tennis Kenya that the ministry will fully support Kenya’s tennis top seed Angela Okutoyi as she prepares to feature in the three remaining Grand slam tournaments (French Open, Wimbledon, US Open) this year.

On Thursday, Amina hosted Okutoyi alongside Tennis Kenya president James Kenani, Secretary General Wanjii Karani and Coach Francis Rogoi for breakfast at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

This is after Okutoyi's heroics at 2022 Australian Open Juniors championship last month. Okutoyi made history on January 25 when she became the first Kenyan player to go past the second round of the Australian Open juniors’ championships.

Okutoyi, who jetted back into the country on January 29, was also honoured on Tuesday as Tennis Kenya marked 100 years of existence at the Nairobi Club.

“We are extremely proud of what Okutoyi has achieved. As a country we are still getting used to the name Okutoyi, having a Kenyan play in the Grand Slam, and having such a great magnitude of achievement at such a young age.

“As a ministry we are set up to mostly support team sports and we only come in fully for individual sports once the player gets to a certain level and then we give all the support that we can. And with what Okutoyi has done, we are now making a commitment to not let her down on her journey to become a pro tennis player.

“The ministry will now work closely with the Tennis Kenya president and the coaches to ensure that she gets everything she requires from travel, accommodation and even training facilities and equipment for a smooth run in all the competitions this year,” said Mohammed.

Mohammed added that plans to build a high performance training center for tennis players at Kasarani Stadium are underway.

“We already have the seed money from the ITF, we also have identified the land and we are now just waiting for the title deeds to be finalized at the government offices so that the building of hard courts can start so that our players can have international standard training courts when preparing for the different competitions and also have a central meeting place that will be easily accessible,” she said. 

Okutoyi currently ranked at position 53 in the International Tennis Federation junior rankings has been training in ITF centers in Burundi, Kenya and Morocco from the age of 10 where she has received both her academic education and tennis mentoring.

The 18-year-old Okutoyi, who is a debuting in the Grand Slam events, is set to leave for Egypt in a week’s time to compete in the all-women’s 15k tournaments in Sharm Elsheikh from February 14-March 6.

She will also feature in three junior grade tournaments (J2 Prato, J1 Santa Croce Sull’arno and JA Milan) in Italy in April. 

Okutoyi is expected to use these competitions as a build up to the French Open Juniors also known as Roland Garros scheduled to run from May 29 to June 5 in Paris. Her training, organised by Serbia will also prepare her for Wimbledon and the US Open.

“With the kind of support I have been receiving from Tennis Kenya and the sports ministry I have no choice but to continue working hard to ensure that Kenya starts to get the attention it needs on tennis just like athletics.

“I am hoping that my dream of getting to top 30 in the rankings will come to pass once I get to qualify for the French Open which I hope will be a qualification in the main draw and then now work my way up to get to the quarter-finals. That’s my goal this year and I hope to achieve it,” said Okutoyi.

The two-time Africa Juniors Champion is scheduled to start her training immediately at Peponi School courts where she will be training alongside the Davis Cup team of Ismael Changawa, Kevin Cheruiyot, Albert Njogu and Ibrahim Kibet.

“It’s unfortunate that Okutoyi can only train with male players because currently she is the best female player in the country and the rest of the girls are not at her level yet. But we hope that all these will change with the rest of our upcoming girls like Cynthia Wanjala at Alicia Owegi,” said Coach Rogoi.

Okutoyi is also the second Kenyan girl to feature in a Grand Slam tournament after Susan Wakhungu who featured at Wimbledon in 1978.