Okutoyi savors being Kenya's first ITF World Tennis Tour singles champion

Kenya's Angella Okutoyi after winning her first ITF Singles title.[Angella Okutoyi,Twitter]

Kenya’s tennis sensation Angella Okutoyi is a gem.

Okutoyi made history once again after she became the second Kenyan player in history to win a professional singles tennis title and first since Paul Wekesa in 1994.

The Kenyan top seed defeated Isabella Harvison from USA in a straight sets victory in the final of the W15 Monastir tournament played in Tunisia to clinch her first International Tennis Federation (ITF) Singles title.

And she has now vowed that her first professional title would not be her last after a glorious run at W15 Monastir saw her top the podium and seal her maiden ITF World Tennis Tour crown.

Okutoyi, a wild card for the Tunisian tournament, navigated the draw in some style, requiring just three sets on one occasion – against Italy’s Anastasia Abbagnato in the quarter-finals – before dispatching Isabella Harvison of the United States in the final.

 “You know what they say, hard work does pay off – my first pro title W15 and not the last,” wrote Okutoyi on social media.

The 2022 Wimbledon Girls' Doubles champion got the job done with a 6-2, 7-6(2) victory.

In the semis, Okutoyi had put up a spirited fight against India’s 24-year-old Zeel Desai to win the match by straight sets of 6-1, 7-6 (7-5).

The unseeded Okutoyi had fought her way in the quarters with a 6-4, 6-0 straight sets victory over the top seed Yasmin Mansouri.

Angella Okutoyi (top and Paul Wekesa.[ITF]

Background

Okutoyi’s story is extremely powerful and one that ought to be told as often as possible, particularly as she continues to advance along the player pathway and make a nation – and indeed continent – extremely proud.

After all, the teenager and her twin sister, Roselida Asumwa, were raised by their grandmother, Mary, after their mother tragically died while giving birth to them in 2004. As an extract from Okutoyi's interview from the spring 2022 edition of ITFWorld suggests, life was tough.

“My mum passed away giving birth to me and my twin sister and ever since I have lived with my grandmother, who is a single mum,” said Okutoyi.

“It was really hard. At that time also, her daughter was sick and had problems with her lungs which required oxygen. She had to use all her money to take care of her daughter and at times worked many jobs.

“We started with nothing. Other children would laugh at us and call us names. We became the joke, but we kept our heads down and did our fighting on court.

“When I started playing tennis, it was hard and I remember there were times I would play and wouldn’t have eaten the whole of that day. I slept hungry for consecutive nights, with water the only thing I’d have all day.

“I come from a very humble background, and it was really tough for my grandmother, but she kept going, was really strong and was always supportive. I take my courage and strength from her.”

One of the Okutoyi’s first experiences of tennis was through the ITF’s Junior Tennis Initiative, a key development programme which provides opportunities for children around the world to pick up a racket for the first time.

Through continued support from the ITF and Tennis Kenya, Okutoyi made history at the 2022 Australian Open by becoming the first Kenyan girl to post a Junior Grand Slam match-win.

As a member of the Grand Slam Player Development Programme/ITF Touring Team, she then teamed up with Rose Nijkamp at the Junior Championships, Wimbledon in July 2022 to top the girls’ doubles podium.

Okutoyi has continued to strive and advance her career, with her triumph at W15 Monastir another sizeable – possibly the most significant – step as she plots a course towards the game’s upper echelons. [Additional reporting by ITF]