18-year-old Angela Okutoyi is set to make history by becoming the first Kenyan to compete in the Australian Open.
The Australian Open is a scheduled Grand Slam held annually in Melbourne, Australia.
Okutoyi will be participating in the Australian Open Women's Junior competition. A video seen by Kenyans.co.ke shows her explaining what the fete means to her.
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"Being able to take part in a championship such as the Grand Slam is quite a dream.
"Its quite an experience because it only comes once a year. I am very happy and proud to be where I am," the young tennis player noted.
The promising tennis player hopes to improve her International Tennis Federation Junior ranking (60th) during the tournament. She revealed that she targets to advance to the quarter finals stage of the tournament.
Okutoyi booked her spot at the tournament after winning the Africa Junior Tennis Championship (18 and Under) in November 2021.
In September 2018, she became the sports sensation after winning the Britam Kenya Open Tennis Championship (Women), upsetting three-time former champion Shufaa Changawa 6-1, 7-6 at Nairobi Club.
This would see her become the youngest player to achieve such a fete at the age of 14 years.
Okutoyi developed love for tennis at the age of four. In 2014, she joined the ITF East Africa Regional Training Centre in Burundi aged 10 in a tennis sponsored scholarship.
She made her international debut the same year at the East Africa Zonal Championships where she finished second.
The young athlete returned to Nairobi in 2016 and enrolled at the ITF Training Centre at the Nairobi Club. Here, she was trained by Thierry Ntwali, Francis Rogoi, Albert Arthur and Allan Atola.
She has won a number of local and regional titles including singles and doubles at the East Africa Zonals Under 14, the singles at ITF Kigali Junior International Open, singles AJCCC Under-14 in Algeria, doubles winner of ITF Kigali Junior International Open.
Okutoyi's coach, Thuku Rogoi, believes the sky is the limit for the Tennis prodigy.
“I'm confident Angela is going places and with the opportunities coming from Grand Slam tournaments, she will become a better player and I believe she will move up the rankings,” added Rogoi.
