Nothing excites Kenya’s best tennis player, Angella Okutoyi more than playing in front of fans.
It is no wonder that Angella is one of the most loved sports personalities in Kenya and abroad.
But, what makes her tick? On the courts, Angella, who comes from a humble background, is an aggressive tennis player known for her powerful shots.
Off the court, the second-year Business Management student at Auburn University in the US is always ready to take photos, take selfies, and sign autographs.
"What makes me stand out is my strong mentality, my willingness to not give up and to always give more than 110 percent."
“What makes me stand out is my strong mentality, my willingness to not give up and to always give more than 110 percent,” says Angella, whose role model is American tennis great Serena Williams.
The four-time LG/SJAK Sports Personality of the Month Award winner adds, “I don’t like to show weakness, even when I’m playing someone who is many years older or ranks higher. I try to show that I’m also good as they are and I want to give them a challenge and I can win. I feel like this makes me stand out.”
Angella holds many records. She was the youngest player to represent Kenya at the Billie Jean King Cup after making her debut at the age of 14 in 2018. She was the youngest Kenyan tennis player to win the Kenya Open after dethroning back-to-back champion Shufaa Changawa in 2018.
Angella was the first Kenyan to lift the African Junior Championship after defeating Moroccan Aya El Aouni 6-3, 6-3 in the singles final during the 2021 Africa Junior Under-18 Championships in Sousse, Tunisia.
She was the first Kenyan to play in all four major Junior Grand Slams – Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Angella competed in all four Grand Slams in 2022 when she was a member of the Grand Slam Player Development Programme/International Tennis Federation (ITF) Touring Team. She was the first Kenyan to win a Grand Slam championship at Wimbledon, an achievement she registered in doubles by partnering with Rose Marie Nijkamp from the Netherlands.
In 2023, Okutoyi also became the first Kenyan player to win a singles title on the ITF World Tennis Tour and the first Kenyan to win any professional tennis event in 29 years after she dominated the W15 Monastir tournament in Tunisia on July 30, 2023.
Her most recent piece of history came at the African Games in Accra, Ghana in March this year. She became Kenya’s first women’s singles gold medalist at the African Games since Jane Davies-Doxzon defeated Susan Wakhungu in an-all Kenyan final in 1978.
Angella’s win at the African Games kept alive her dream of competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She will become the first Kenyan to compete in tennis at the Olympics Tennis if Kenya succeeds in an appeal lodged in early June this year.
Angella’s achievements in the courts saw her awarded membership by the Nairobi Club and Karen Country Club in August 2022.
Angella and her twin sister, Roselida Asumwa, were raised by their grandmother, Mary Omukuyia after their mother passed away at Pumwani Maternity in Nairobi when giving birth to them.
“My determination and ambition to make it in tennis come from my grandmother. It motivates me when I remember how she struggled to raise us,” says Angella, who occupies position 496 globally in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and fourth in Africa behind Tunisian Ons Jabeur (10), Burundian Mayar Sherif (76) and Burundian Sada Nahimana (348).
Angella’s plan after graduating to seniors in 2022 was to turn pro immediately, but with the expensive nature of doing so, she opted to take up a tennis scholarship offered to her by Auburn University.
Apart from tennis, Angella also loves fashion. She recently launched her merchandise with the logo AO during the Billie Jean King Cup Africa Group III tournament at the Nairobi Club.
– By Geoffrey Anene
