Okutoyi faces French player Villet in Tunisia
What you need to know:
- Okutoyi is in Tunisia for three W15 Monastir tournaments slated for July 25 to August 14.
- She will then head to Canada for J1 Repentigny from August 28 to September 3 before competing at the US Open Junior Championships scheduled for September 4-10 in New York.
Kenya's Angella Okutoyi faces a tricky assignment against Marie Villet from France in her opening match at the W15 Monastir tournament on the hard courts of Monastir Tennis Club in Tunisia Thursday.
Okutoyi, 18, is ranked 1,526 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Singles ranking released on Monday, while 25-year-old Villet occupies position 906. They are meeting for the first time ever and is the Kenyan's first match since her heroics at Wimbledon.
Being 620 places behind the highly-experienced Frenchwoman means Okutoyi, who is on Grand Slam Player Development Programme (GSPDP), has her work cut out.
The Wimbledon Doubles junior champion has not won on the hard courts in three consecutive matches.
She lost 6-2, 6-3 against Ziva Falkner from Slovenia in the second round of the first W15 Sharm ElSheikh tournament in Egypt held from February 28 to March 6 this year.
Okutoyi suffered a first round exit in the second W15 Sharm ElSheikh tournament after Japanese Ramu Ueda defeated her 6-3, 6-0 held from March 7-13.
The 2018 Kenya Open champion lost 6-3, 7-5 at the hands of South African Leigh Van Zyl in semi-final stage at the JB2 Sousse held on March 28 to April 1 in Tunisia where she lost the Africa Under-18 title.
The winner of the round of 32 match will clash with whoever wins between Ferdaous Bahri (Tunisia) and fifth-seeded Michaela Laki (Greece) in the second round.
Okutoyi is in Tunisia for three W15 Monastir tournaments slated for July 25 to August 14.
She will then head to Canada for J1 Repentigny from August 28 to September 3 before competing at the US Open Junior Championships scheduled for September 4-10 in New York.
