Okutoyi shines in busy tennis year

It was a year of mixed fortunes for Kenyan tennis in 2022. The highlights of the year was undoubtedly the historic performances in the prestigious junior Grand Slams by teenager Angella Okutoyi.

The lowest moment for the country has to be the relegation of Kenya’s Davis Cup team from Africa Zone Group III to Group IV, one year after coming close to gaining promotion to World Group II.

The year began with Okutoyi placing the country on the world map at the Australian Open Junior Championships in Melbourne.

She defeated Italian qualifier Federica Urgesi 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 in the first round to become the first girl from Kenya to win a junior Grand Slam match, getting congratulatory messages from all over the world, including from tennis legend Billie Jean King, actress Lupita Nyong’o and Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala.

Okutoyi did not stop there as she humbled Australian Zara Larke 7-6, 5-7,6-1 in Round Two before losing 2-6, 3-6 against Serbian Lola Radivojevic in Round Three.

She went on to compete in the other Grand Slams at Roland Garros in France, Wimbledon (England) and the US Open.

At Wimbledon, Okutoyi and her Dutch partner Rose Marie Nijkamp won the junior doubles. This was historic as Okutoyi became the only Kenyan to have ever won a Grand Slam title.

Good luck message

She disclosed to Nation Sport that she was inspired by the good luck message from World number one, Iga Swiatek from Poland.

Her performances at the Australian Open and Wimbledon earned her the prestigious LG-sponsored Sports Personality of the Months awards in January and July from the Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK).

She has chosen to pursue tennis and Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and Apparel Design on a full four-year scholarship at Auburn University, USA.

More great news for Kenya on the tennis courts came during the Rwanda Open when Okutoyi and Albert Njogu won the women’s and men’s singles categories, respectively, in Kigali.  

Okutoyi and her twin sister Roselida Asumwa dominated women’s doubles as Ismael Changawa with Burundian partner Cuma Issa won men’s doubles.

Kenyans Jane Ndenga and Rajab Athman also reigned supreme in the women’s and men’s wheelchair events respectively.

It was a year that Tennis Kenya also marked 100 years of existence. 

During the celebrations, Tennis Kenya made the big announcement that it was finally ready to start constructing the first public tennis courts on the 10-acre piece of land allocated to it by the government at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani, a stone throw away from the Kasarani Indoor Arena.

“These public courts at the National Tennis Centre are the legacy project for the next 100 years. Since 1922 we’ve been using private members clubs and schools to train.

“The 24 public courts (16 hard and eight clay courts) will revolutionize our tennis because they will be free and accessible to players,” said Tennis Kenya President James Kenani during the celebrations.

Coach Allan Saha Atola revealed more good news during the celebrations that Asumwa had also got a 70 percent four-year scholarship at Cowley College in the USA, weeks after Owegi had landed scholarship at Alabama University.

Another milestone in Kenyan tennis in 2022 was hosting of two W15 World Tennis Tour events at the Karen Country Club where players from 19 countries turned up.

Okutoyi, who had never gone past the first round in a W15 event, reached the final of the first tournament where she lost against German Emily Seibold.

She also won the doubles title in the second tournament with her partner from India, Smriti Bhasin.