Kenya to host ITF tour in October

Kenya's Judith Nkatha at last year's Tour.[Photo, Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Kenya is set to host the women’s International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis Tour in October this year.

The Tour which will be hosted in the country for the second time running will feature 20 teams with Kenya’s Open champion Angela Okutoyi set to lead.

This year’s competition is shaping up to be tough with teams like Nigeria, South Africa, Poland, Romania, Brazil, Venezuela, Turkey, Australia and the USA expected to participate.

Other countries expected for the seven-day tournament include Burundi, Congo, India, Sweden, France, Great Britain, Netherlands, Israel, Russia, Ukraine and Gabon.

The tournament last year was held at Peponi School in Ruiru, Kiambu County.  

"We have been given the hosting rights by ITF for this event and we have started preparations for the tournament. Last year's event was held at Peponi School in Ruiru," said Tennis Kenya (TK) secretary-general, Wanjiku Mbugua.

Last year, a total of 56 players battled it out for the Sh1.5 million prize money, with Kenya’s Angela Okutoyi, Faith Nyabera and Judith Nkatha qualifying directly to the Main draw as their counterparts Shania Gadhia, Roselida Asumwa and Alicia Owegi forced starts in the qualifying rounds.

The federation expressed delight in hosting the event again and promised improved performance by the Kenyan team this year. 

“Our lady players have shown their quality in the recent tournaments and having it again later in the year will be a big boost and will expose them to world-class competition,” said Mbugua