Okutoyi recounts French Open experience

Kenya’s 18 year old tennis prodigy Angella Okutoyi has said she still has room to make improvements in her game after being bundled out in the second round of the just concluded Roland Garros Junior Championship that took place in Paris, France from May 29-4 June 2022.

Having breezed past Belgium’s Amelia Van Impe in straight sets in the first round (78-6, 6-4), the 2021 African U18 champion failed to replicate her Australian Open Junior Championship performance where she had reached the third round as she went down 6-2, 6-4 against No. 1 seed Petra Marcinko in the second round.

Recounting on her run in the prestigious French Open tournament, the teenager, who became the first Kenyan girl to compete at a junior Grand Slam event since 1978 at this year’s Australian Open, admitted on not maximizing on her chances in the game which ultimately ended up seeing her dumped out of the competition.

“I would say I had some chances in the match but I was not able to dominate it. [Marcinko] really played well, but I know there are some things I need to improve to be able to be playing at her level. And I think when I go back home, I will really work on that,” Okutoyi is quoted on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) website.

Okutoyi, who is part of the ITF/Grand Slam Player Development Programme that allows athletes from developing tennis nations to travel as part of team, have access to Grand Slam Player Development Programme coaches and gain exposure to events outside of their region, also expressed her delight at the chance she has been given alongside fourteen other boys and girls from other countries who benefit from the programme.

“Being in the team is so nice. You get to meet new players, new coaches. You also get to learn new styles of play and new lifestyles, new languages… it is really nice,” she said.

Angella Okutoyi – Tennis barrier breaker who rose from a children's orphanage to the Grand Slam

Currently, the teenager is back at home but will be heading back to the team by 20th June where she will start preparations for The Junior Wimbledon Championships that are scheduled to take place from 2-10 July.