Okutoyi shines bright in another great year for Tennis Kenya

The year 2023 has been a great one for tennis in Kenya.

From the renovation of Nairobi Club tennis courts from murram to globally accepted clay and the election of Wanjiru Karani as the first Eastern Africa President to more history-making performances from Okutoyi, the sport has had numerous milestones to celebrate.

Okutoyi made history as a junior in 2022, including being the first Kenyan woman to win a match at a junior grand slam when she reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open Juniors, the first Kenyan to compete in all four junior grand slams (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open) and the first Grand Slam champion (she won at Wimbledon with Dutch partner Rose Marie Nijkamp).

Her performances saw her get scholarship offers from over 30 universities, as she graduated as a senior after the US Open Juniors in September 2022.

She joined Auburn on a full tennis scholarship of four years in January 2023 – and requested Cowley College, which also wanted her – to give the scholarship to her twin sister, Roselida Asumwa. Both joined their respective universities in January.

After five months at Auburn, studying and training and playing college tennis on the hard courts, Okutoyi, Asumwa and Alabama University student Alicia Owegi joined Team Kenya for the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Africa Group III in June.

As the leader, Okutoyi did not disappoint in front of the home crowd. She won all her six singles matches – against Malak El Allami (Morocco), Chelsea Chakanyuka (Botswana), Patience Athieno (Uganda), Liniques Theron (Namibia), Adesuwa Osabuohien (Nigeria) and Sasha Chimedza (Zimbabwe) - inspiring 11th seeds Kenya who also had Cynthia Wanjala, Melissa Mwakha and Stacy Yego, to win bronze medal on the newly-upgraded Nairobi Club clay courts.

The Billie Jean King Cup (formerly FedCup) was returning to Kenya for the first time since 1995, when it was hosted on Murram courts at Nairobi Club.

Replacing the murram courts with clay courts for Sh8 million after 110 years was not only a blessing for the 12-team Africa Group III competition, but also growth of the sport in Kenya, as many juniors use the facility for the training.

It was a good move as murram led to delays in matches whenever it rained due to poor drainage and also caused injuries to players. The internationally recognised clay courts will attract bigger tournaments and quality players.

Founded in 1901, Nairobi Club had long been a jewel in the crown of Kenyan sports, synonymous with tennis, while also offering cricket, squash, bowling, hockey, football and swimming. The club hosted the All Africa Tennis Games in 1987.

Okutoyi holds the record for the youngest-ever Kenyan player in the Billie Jean King Cup after making her debut aged 14 in April 2018.

Her performance in June 2023 showed the world the progress Okutoyi has made since her debut, besides exposing a gulf in talent between Okutoyi and other women tennis players in Kenya.

This gap was laid bare during the two International Tennis Federation (ITF) W25 events this month in Nairobi, where compatriots Owegi, Asumwa, Britney Chebet, Faith Urasa, Farah Fernandez, Wanjala, Hadassah Msine and Yego, were eliminated in the first qualifying round at Nairobi Club.

Yego and Owegi lost in the first round of the main draw at Karen Country Club, leaving Okutoyi as the only Kenyan player in the tournament. It was also a learning curve for the other Kenyan players.

Renowned tennis coach Francis Rogoi admitted there was a need to invest in tennis structures in the country, start a high-performance training centre, and re-look the school curriculum to bring up the next generation of stars.

Apart from the Billie Jean King Cup and the W25 Nairobi events, Okutoyi won the W15 event in Monastir, Tunisia, in July. By winning W15, Okutoyi became the first Kenyan player - man or woman - to win a professional singles event since Paul Wekesa achieved the feat at the Andorra Challenger in 1994.

She is also the first-ever Kenyan to lift the singles and doubles crowns at a W25 event – a level higher than W15 - during the second Nairobi event at the Nairobi Club on December 23.

Okutoyi won doubles with Burundian partner Sada Nahimana after stunning third seeds Jessie Aney (USA)/Lena Papadakis (Germany) 6-4, 3-6, 10-7. Kenya Open 2018 and 2022 champion Okutoyi bagged the singles title by defeating Papadakis 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. Players from 34 countries competed in the W25 Nairobi events held at Karen Country Club (December 10-17) and Nairobi Club (December 17-23).

Okutoyi is a member of both clubs. Last year, she got a three-year membership at Karen Country Club and a seven-year Junior Elected Membership until she turns 25 at Nairobi Club.

The election of Tennis Kenya Secretary General Wanjiru Karani on October 27 as the new Eastern Africa (Zone IV) President was another milestone for Kenyan tennis in 2023.

Karani won the election during the Confederation of African Tennis (CAT) Annual General Meeting in Nairobi. The position came with even more responsibilities as she will serve as one of the five Vice Presidents of the African tennis governing body.

In the election overseen by ITF President David Haggerty, Wanjiru got six votes against five of Mahamoud Zayya from Comoros in the second round of voting. Both candidates tied on five votes in the first round of voting after one vote marked as spoiled.

The retired Kenya Team player and captain, the first woman Zone IV president and second ever woman CAT vice president after Egyptian Isra Elsanhoury, took over the presidency from compatriot Patrick Gichira.

Gichira did not seek re-election after serving 12 years as Zone IV President and CAT vice president.

Benin’s Jean Claude Talon won the CAT presidency after amassing 25-12 votes in the second round of voting against Botswana’s Nelson Amanze. The first round was a close contest, with Talon bagging 16 votes, followed by Amanze (12) and Senegalese Issa Mboup (nine).

Jean Claude, brother of Benin President Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon, took over the reins from Tunisian Tarak Cherif, who had been at the helm for 20 years. 

The National Olympic Committee of Kenya, through its Secretary General Francis Mutuku, congratulated Wanjiru. Mutuku noted that she had worked hard for the new positions over the last five years. “We have belief that she will take tennis in the region and Africa to great heights,” said Mutuku and challenged other women in sports in Kenya to go for the regional and continental positions.

After two weeks of W25 Nairobi tournaments, Tennis Kenya President James Kenani said plans were underway to apply to host the W25 events again next year, as well as a men’s event (M15).

Wanjiru recently hinted that Kenya could also apply to host the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Africa Group III, which will have new entrants Madagascar (promoted after winning Africa Group IV) and South Africa (relegated from Europe/Africa Zone Group II).

Despite being a force to reckon with in Zone IV in junior tournaments, especially in the girls' category, Kenya did not do well on the continental stage at Africa Junior Under 14 in Togo and Africa Junior Team Championships for 14 & Under in Egypt, so 2024 will offer an opportunity to bounce back. 

Kenya will aim to continue with the fight to gain promotion to Davis Cup Africa Group III after falling short in Group IV in July in Rwanda, where Nigeria and Ghana punched the tickets.

Ismael Changawa, Ibrahim Kibet, Kael Shah, Keean Shah and Derrick Ominde represented Kenya.

Another event to look out for in 2024, which Kenya will have its fingers crossed, is the Summer Olympics scheduled for August in Paris, France. Okutoyi still has a chance to qualify for the Olympics if she can improve her WTA Singles rankings to top-56 on June 10, 2024, or wins the African Games in March 2024 in Ghana.

Kenya has had representation at the Summer Olympics in athletics, archery, beach volleyball, boxing, cycling, field hockey, judo, rowing, rugby sevens, sailing, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling, but not tennis.

Okutoyi will become the first Kenyan to play tennis at the Olympics if she can pull it off in the qualifiers. 

Will the government finally fulfil its promise of helping Tennis Kenya to put up the first public courts on the 10-acre piece of land allocated for the National Tennis Centre in Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani?

Haggerty visited Kenya in April 2018 to commission the construction of the multi-million public courts. However, there has been no progress since then due to lack of funds.

Kenani believes if the government completes the facility, Kenya will create a lot of jobs, improve the accessibility for tennis to Kenyans and boost sports tourism.