Kenyan rising tennis starlet Angella Okutoyi is upbeat ahead of the Wimbledon tournament which kicks off today in London, United Kingdom. The Mbagathi Road Primary school alumnus will be seeking to improve on the brilliant performance she posted at French Open a few weeks ago.
Okutoyi hammered Amelie Van Impe from Belgium 7-6 (6), 6-4 in the first round of the Roland Garros before being eliminated in the second round by Croatian sensation Petra Marcinko. She gave a spirited fight but lost to Marcinko by straight sets of 6-2, 6-4.
Earlier this year, Okutoyi made history by becoming the first Kenyan lady to make it to the third round of the prestigious Australian Open Juniors tournament. She defeated Australian Zara Larke and Italian Federica Urgesi before crushing out in the hands of Serbia's Lola Radivojevic in the third round.
Also Read: From Orphanage to Tennis Stardom: The Story of Angella Okutoyi
The Wimbledon Junior championships is scheduled for Saturday, July 2 to Sunday, July 10. Okutuyi will have to be at her best in the qualification slated for 30 June to Friday 1 July at the Wimbledon Community Sports Centre to book a slot in the main event.
Speaking to one of the local Kenyan media, the eighteen-year-old revealed that she will need to enhance on some areas of her game in order to stand a chance at Wimbledon.
“There are areas of my game which I need to work on and with the coaches seconded from the junior tennis grand slam program, I believe I will be in good shape,” Okutoyi told The Star.
Although there is no prize money for players below eighteen years, they will receive ranking points. Okutuyi is currently placed at position sixty-one in the latest junior rankings released by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
Some of the stars who are expected to grace the seniors’ singles grand slam tournament include seven-time champion Serena Williams, world number one Iga Swiatek, American Coco Gauff, and Novak Djokovic.
African highest-ranked player Ons Jabeur and reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu will also take part in the oldest tennis tournament.