ANGELLA OKUTOYI
ITF World Spring 2022 15
"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
C L I C K H E R E TO WATC H
