Tennis Kenya Secretary General goes hard at ITF for disheartening Okutoyi appeal decision

Tennis Kenya Secretary General Wanjiru Mbugua has decried Angella Okutoyi’s exclusion from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, labeling last week’s decision by the International Tennis Federation “a step back from the core values of inclusion, diversity and fair play.”

Okutoyi, who had to wait for an appeal decision by ITF to confirm whether she had made the cut for the Summer Games, was on Thursday 4 July denied a spot, with the federation stating that she had not met the qualification criteria.

As per the qualification guidelines, Okutoyi needed to be in the top 400 positions in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings, despite winning this year’s African Games title in Accra, Ghana.

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In a long statement, Wanjiru, who made the appeal on behalf of Okutoyi citing an extraordinarily squeezed qualification calendar that only saw the 20-year-old left with two months to make the cut said: “I have had a heavy heart these last couple of days since the International Tennis Federation rejection of our appeal on behalf of Okutoyi - Africa's gold medalist- for the Paris 2024 Games.

“We worked tirelessly, knocking on many doors to make this happen. Some doors opened a bit and then shut with a bang, and others refused to open no matter how hard we knocked.

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“Despite these efforts, we have failed to secure Angella's rightful place at the Olympics.

“Despite her outstanding achievements, including a gold medal at the African Games, Angella's exclusion due to the ranking requirement feels like a step back from the core values of inclusion, diversity, and fair play that both the ITF and the IOC stand for.

Wanjiru, who was last year elected as Vice President of the Confederation of African Tennis, also described ITF’s decision to limit Africa’s representation in the Women’s Olympic draw to only one athlete - Egypt’s Mayar Sherif as “disheartening.”

The 50-year-old also questioned why “a player ranked 606 from Europe” received a universal place in the Games, at the expense of athletes from Benin and Burkina Faso, who were eligible by a similar measure.

“The irony is glaring when a player ranked 606 receives a universality place, while our gold medalist from Kenya, ranked 491, is left out,” she wrote. “This discrepancy challenges the fairness of the qualification process. How is the tennis world okay with only one African athlete in the Olympics draw? This is a transgression against Africa, and it raises serious questions about the inclusivity of the Olympic spirit.”