LONDON, England, Jul, 10 – Kenya has its first Grand Slam champion, in any discipline, after Angella Okutoyi triumphed in the Junior Championships, Wimbledon doubles final alongside partner Rose Marie Nijkamp of the Netherlands.
Okutoyi, who is a member of the Grand Slam Player Development Programme/ITF Touring Team, and Nijkamp defeated Canadian pair Victoria Mboko and Kayla Cross 3-6 4-6 (11-9). Secretary General of Tennis Kenya, Wanjiru Mbugua-Karani, was also on hand to put the scale of the victory into context.
President Uhuru Kenyatta congratulated Okutoyi for being the first Kenyan to win a Grand Slam.
Kenyatta hailed the teenager’s historic victory as a momentous achievement that has not only lifted Kenya’s profile in world tennis but will also inspire a generation of young players to excel in the sport.
Road To Tennis Greatness
She captured the imagination of a nation by making history at the Australian Open Junior Championships earlier this year and the story of Angella Okutoyi’s journey to the Grand Slam stage is a powerful one.
It is a tale of heartbreak, defiance and hope as the Kenyan teenager overcame immense hurdles and defied significant odds to become a household name in Nairobi and beyond at the age of 18.
Okutoyi’s life was not always illuminated by the limelight – far from it, in fact – and there have been some dark times and difficult moments which have shaped her character and outlook.
Indeed, there are reminders everywhere, some of which are unavoidable, while others are deliberately placed to inspire.
Okutoyi’s WhatsApp profile picture, for instance, is not of her Australian Open exploits, but a photograph of herself aged six.
“I keep this photograph because it reminds me of where I came from,” Okutoyi tells ITFWorld. “It is a picture of when I was young and at the place where I started to play tennis.
“It is important for me to always remember my start in life and where I came from. It acts as constant motivation. For me, my drive is my grandmother. When I am on court,I think of her and when I do, I give everything.
“She is my driving force. I know where she has taken me and my sister from, and I also know the journey we have gone through together.”
The reason her grandmother, Mary, features so prominently in her affections is because she raised Okutoyi and her twin sister, Roselida Asumwa, after their mother tragically died during childbirth in 2004.
Aside from a brief stint in an orphanage home in Limuru, Okutoyi and her sister stayed in a small quarter house in Loreto Convent with their grandmother, who works there as a cleaner. Life has been 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 when 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.
“She doesn’t show it, but she is really happy about my achievements. She tells me that she is proud of me and I’m happy that I have made her proud, because that has been my goal. If she is happy, I am happy.”
There have been many important figures along Okutoyi’s path to the Grand Slam spotlight, which started aged four when she was enrolled into the ITF Junior Tennis Initiative (JTI).
The JTI is the national 14-and-under junior development programme for a National Association, supported by the ITF, which provides increased participation opportunities and identifies talent for focused development.
After displaying all the hallmarks of an accomplished individual with significant potential, Okutoyi was invited to join the ITF East Africa Regional Training Centre in Burundi in 2014.
“I am really grateful that the ITF took me,which immediately reduced some problems,” added Okutoyi. “They provided everything: food, shelter and equipment to train with. I was so grateful to have that opportunity. Since then, life changed.”
The feeling was mutual and the ITF was only too happy to provide developmental and, as it happened, career-enhancing opportunities.
“I remember the first time I saw Angella – it was October 2013 during my development visit to Kenya,” Thierry Ntwali, the ITF Development Officer for East and Central Africa, tells ITFWorld.
“Joe Karanja, a former JTI Coordinator, asked me to see a talented 10-year-old girl. I was so impressed by her level that I immediately thought of offering her an opportunity to join the training centre.
“Angella joined in February 2014 and was able to combine training with studying as she looked to maximise her chances of making it as one of the game’s future stars.
“I am so happy for Angella, for whom playing a Grand Slam was one of her greatest ambitions. You cannot imagine the enormous happiness and pride I felt as one of Angella’s coaches and given her association with the ITF Centres.
“The joy I feel is also joy for the teams at the ITF Centres: coaches, physiotherapists, physical trainers, teachers and support staff. I also want to acknowledge the immense joy that Francis Rogoi – a big coaching contributor to her success – feels.”
Returning to Kenya two years later, Okutoyi continued her tennis education at the ITF East Africa High Performance Centre in Nairobi before the Covid-19 pandemic prompted a move to the ITF/CAT African Development Centre in Morocco.
Her progression has followed an upward trajectory and last year proved her most successful season to date as she topped the podium at three ITF World Tennis Tour junior tournaments, including a career-best title at the ITF/CAT African Junior Championship in November.
A Junior Grand Slam was the next step as Okutoyi sought to immerse herself in a highly-competitive, results-driven environment with the very best junior players on the planet.
Aided by membership of the Grand Slam Player Development Programme/ITF Touring Team, it was an opportunity which the Junior Grand Slam debutant grasped with both hands as she thrived under the international spotlight.
By defeating Italian qualifier Federica Urgesi in the first round, Okutoyi became the first Kenyan girl to record a Junior Grand Slam match-win, while she was already the first since 1978 to even compete at a major.
There was further joy and much-deserved acknowledgment when Okutoyi dispatched another qualifier, this time Zara Larke of Australia, in round two and equalled the previous best result of a Kenyan junior at a Grand Slam.
Christian Vitulli reached the third round at the US Open Junior Tennis Championships in 2005, and while victory over Serbia’s Lola Radivojevic would have seen Okutoyi surge into the quarter- finals and make further history, it was not to be.
“I feel like I really did something great, although in the moment, I did not really think it was big,” added Okutoyi. “Since returning home, however, I have realised it was actually a really good achievement.
“My goal was to reach the quarter-finals, but I wasn’t sad because I gave it my all and I was really happy to reach the third round.
“For my first Grand Slam, I am really grateful for the achievement, and I look forward to reaching my quarter-final target in the upcoming Grand Slams. More than that, I am proud that I can inspire young Kenyans.
“Most people from Kenya are not wealthy and come from the same situation as me. I am proud to be setting an example so they can see someone like them achieving and it gives them encouragement that they can do it also.
“I am happy that I am an example to them, and I have shown them that nothing is impossible with hard work, determination and belief.”
She may have fallen short of her last-eight aim but her exploits in Melbourne resonated in a big way. On her return to Nairobi and after landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Okutoyi was afforded a hero’s welcome.
The nation’s latest headline-grabber was greeted by a host of well-wishers including Tennis Kenya President James Kenani, Secretary General Wanjiru Mbugua-Karani and Olympic Committee of Kenya Secretary General Francis Mutuku.
This came as a surprise to Okutoyi, but not to those who had followed her Australian Open escapades. After all, she had been a red-hot topic of conversation in Kenya and throughout Africa the previous week.
Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala, boxer Christine Ongare and tennis legends Paul Wekesa and Susan Wakhungu – the last girl from Kenya to feature at a Junior Grand Slam back in the 1970s – were among those to reach out and show support.
Comedians and musicians also made contact to pass on their congratulations, although perhaps the most high-profile individual to recognise her achievements was Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o.
Okutoyi trended on social media as a result, something she described as “really different”, which is also her reaction to now being recognised in the street. There were also suggestions she was set for an audience with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“There were rumours and I think I was going to meet him, but I haven’t yet,” said Okutoyi. “I did, however, meet Dr. Amina Mohamed, the Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Heritage and Culture.
“I have always seen her from afar, but never had the chance to be close to her. She knew who I was which shocked me. She congratulated me and said how much she appreciated the work I have put in. She also told me that she’d always support me.”
Okutoyi’s ascent has resulted in other far- reaching implications, some of them societal. Tennis Kenya continues to play a key role in the development of the country’s latest role model and are reaping rewards, which is particularly fitting given the organisation is this year celebrating its centenary.
“Tennis Kenya is extremely proud of Angie and the hard work and resilience she has shown,” Mbugua- Karani tells ITFWorld.
“By following Angie’s matches at the Australian Open, Kenyans’ interest in tennis piqued and her performances inspired Kenyans around the country to sit up and take notice of her and tennis in general.
“It has inspired a lot of JTI players to keep working as they have now seen a snapshot of what it looks like to start in the JTI and end up at the Grand Slams.
“The interest in Angella has generated a lot of queries about tennis participation, while it has also energised and galvanised Kenyan tennis legends back to the game, inspiring conversations on how they can give back.
“We hope her achievements will motivate Angella to do better and to get the sponsors she so needs. Because the bar has been set high, we know it will inspire participation in the game and it will raise the level of tennis in Kenya.”
The success she has enjoyed will stand the test of time, although fresh ambitions have now been set. Those goals are documented within Okutoyi’s ‘tennis book’, something she started making additions to aged 15 during a moment of reflection at the end of a school day.
“I was just sitting around one day and thought, ‘why not make some goals for myself?’,” she said.
“Back then, I had no idea whether I would actually achieve them, but I had the belief that I would.
“I just wrote down some goals that one day I hoped would come true. One was playing the Australian Open and winning a Junior Grand Slam match. Now I’ve done that, for sure there are some new goals in there.”
She is still so young, but Okutoyi is already a national treasure. While the future is not ours to see, this gem would appear ready to glisten.
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