Okutoyi climbs 182 places to new career best

Kenya’s Angella Okutoyi has climbed 182 places to a new career high of 1145 in Women Tennis Association (WTA) rankings announced on Monday.

Okutoyi had career best of 1501 on July 31 but did not have a ranking going into the two W15 Nairobi World Tennis Tour events held from November 13 to 27 at the Karen Country Club in Nairobi.

Okutoyi, who has bagged the Wimbledon, J1 Repentigny and W15 Nairobi doubles titles this year, moved up the ladder after chalking up six points out of a possible 10 when she lost against German Emily Seibold in the singles finals in the first W15 Nairobi tournament on November 20.

The 18-year-old also added two points when she put up a brave fight only to lose against top-seeded Seibold in the first round of the second W15 Nairobi tournament on Thursday last week.

The two tournaments in Nairobi were her first since the US Open Junior Championships in September in New York.

They were her last tournaments before joining Auburn University in the USA in January on a four-year scholarship.

In the latest WTA rankings, Seibold, who also reached quarter-finals in the second tournament, has ascended 33 spots to position 487, her new career high.

Frenchwoman Caroline Romeo, who won the second W15 Nairobi tournament, is up one place to 522.