S. OchiengNairobi set to host two high profile ITF tennis tournaments
.jpg)
Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 27.09.22. | 19:46
The two events will mark the first time a tournament of such caliber is held in the country since 2019 with Okutoyi anticipated to play on home soil.
Tennis Kenya is set to be the host of two senior high profile International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournaments set to be held in the country’s capital Nairobi in the coming month of November 2022.
According to the tournament calendar released by ITF, the governing body of world tennis, Nairobi is scheduled to host two W15 clay court events with the first tournament running from 14-20 November as the second tourney follows immediately from 21-27 November 2022.
In being staged in the country, the two events that will take place at the Nairobi Club will mark the first time a tournament of such caliber is held in the country since 2019.
Tennis Kenya Secretary General Wanjiru Mbugua revealed to Mozzart Sport that the tournament has already been confirmed and the organizing process was already underway.
According to her, the purpose of hosting the tournaments is to enable Kenya’s history maker Angella Okutoyi, who became the first player from the country to lift a Grand Slam tournament when she won 2022 Wimbledon Girls Doubles in July, play on home soil and collect some valuable points as she begins her transition to the senior game after her escapades in the juniors.
“We are excited to be hosting the two events. It is going to be the very first time since 2019 and we cannot wait to see what it holds.
It is also going to be a chance for people to watch Angie (Okutoyi) playing on home soil because most of the time she has to travel out of the country to play these events.
We felt it would be nice to host and have Kenyans watch her here on home soil,” Mbugua told Mozzart Sport.
The W15 event is the product of reforms designed to support talented junior players in their progression to the senior game, and target the prize money effectively at professional tournaments to enable more players to make a living.
The events will have a cumulative prize money of 15,000 US Dollars (around Ksh 1,809,000 shillings) for the whole tournament.
.jpg)
