Okutoyi clinches ITF W35 Nairobi singles and doubles titles

Kenya’s historic Wimbledon champion Angella Okutoyi produced a commanding display to lift the 2026 ITF W35 Nairobi singles title after defeating Italy’s Martina Colmegna in a gripping final at Parklands Sports Club on Sunday, 4 January.

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Okutoyi battled through a tense 2-hour, 33-minute encounter to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, sealing her first W35 title on home soil after falling short in the 2025 final.

The victory capped a standout week for the Kenyan, who once again rose to the occasion in front of an appreciative Nairobi crowd.

Despite coming into the match ranked 561 on the WTA standings, more than 100 places below Colmegna at 451, Okutoyi started assertively.

She raced to a 3-0 lead and maintained control with confident service games to take the opening set 6-3.

The Italian, 29, responded strongly in the second set, dictating play to level the contest with a 6-3 win.

In the decisive third set, Okutoyi rediscovered her rhythm. After an early exchange of breaks left the score finely balanced, the African Games champion tightened her baseline play and pulled away to close out the set 6-3, finally claiming the title that had eluded her a year earlier.

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Speaking after the match, Okutoyi, who turns 22 later this month, said the victory carried deep personal significance after a series of painful final-round defeats at W35 level.

“This match was one of my goals. I wanted to win so badly because I have been losing in finals, especially in the 25k tournaments. I told myself I was going to play my best,” she said. “I was also playing for my Aunt Cynthia.”

Okutoyi dedicated the triumph to her late aunt, Cynthia, who passed away in December, adding emotional weight to what was already a milestone moment in her career.

Buoyed by the win, the Auburn University student has now set her sights on completing a rare double when the second leg of the ITF W35 Nairobi event begins next week.

“I want to win both legs, and I hope next week will be just like this week,” she added.

Okutoyi’s title run was built on consistency and resilience.

She opened her campaign with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Hungary’s Luca Udvardy, followed by a 6-4, 6-1 win against Serbia’s Dusica Popovski.

She progressed to the semifinals after Serbia’s Natalija Senic retired following the first set, before surviving a stern test from Poland’s Zuzanna Pawlikowska, winning 2-6, 6-0, 7-5 in Saturday’s semifinal.

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Okutoyi capped a memorable weekend by also lifting the doubles title, partnering Pawlikowska, she overcame France’s Alyssa Reguer and China’s Yufei Ren in straight sets, winning 6-2, 7-5 in a final that had been suspended on Saturday and concluded later at Parklands Sports Club.

The twin triumph earned Okutoyi $4,860 (approximately Ksh 626,470) in prize money and 35 WTA ranking points.

She remains Kenya’s top-ranked female player and is currently placed 561 on the WTA rankings and 865 on the ITF singles standings, with the Nairobi success expected to further boost her climb on the global circuit.