Kenyan Tennis Sensation Angela Okutoyi Makes History After Wimbledon Victory
Tennis star Angela Okutoyi made history on Saturday by becoming the first Kenyan to win a Major Open title.
The 18-year-old Kenyan won the Grandslam following her girls’ double victory at Wimbledon alongside her Dutch partner Rose Marie Nijkamp.
Okutoyi and Nijkamp defeated the Canadian duo of Kayla Cross and Victoria Mboko by two sets to one to clinch the history-setting victory in London. They took down the Canadian pair 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 in the final of the Wimbledon Open Doubles Junior Championships at the grass courts of All England Lawn Tennis Club.
Okutoyi and Nijkamp beat the pair of Nikola Daubnerova (Serbia) and Lucija Ciric Bagaric (Croatia) by straight sets of 6-3-6-4 in the Friday evening’s semi-final.
On the way to the final, the two defeated Georgia Pedone (Italy) and Kaitlin Quevedo (USA) 6-4, 6-4, then proceeded to beat Denislava Glushkova (Bulgaria) and Hayu Kinoshita (Japan) 6-2, 6-3.
They went on to defeat Czech Republic pair of Linda Klimovicova and Dominika Salkova 6-7, 6-4, 11-9 in the quarter-finals.
Okutoyi shifted her focus to the doubles after her singles run in her debut tournament was halted in the first round of the main draw after going down 6-3, 6-2 against Mia Kupres of Canada.
Founded 145 years ago, Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious.
Comments (12)
Hongera
WESTERN KENYANS...keep relentlessly putting our beloved Nation on the map.. POSITIVELY.
Positive vibes to counteract OKUYU negative reputation on the world stage.
Am actually afraid to introduce myself as a Kikuyu outside of our border.
The enduring 'Okuyu' stereotype is the product of decades of negative experiences by other Kenyans to which they were subjected to by the Kikuyu. Slyness,dishonesty, greed have been readily acceptable as values within the culture. The British learnt this quite early in their administration and virtually banned Kikuyu people from employment in the civil service. To this day few people feel comfortable dealing with a Kyuk either as a partner or an employee, and even Kikuyu themselves often choose to employ fellow kikuyu,they tend to be bad workers. I know I'll get some flak for saying but we all know it's an unspoken fact. By the way, I happen to have been born a Kyuk,exposed to the culture, and deliberately fought to wean myself from it. So I know.
✊🏿👊🏿👏🏿
From foster home to being raised by grandma.Talk of a road less traveled...
Keep it up girl.The only limitation is the one you put on yourself.Go for your full potential,and make yourself,grandma and the country proud.
Congratulations. Diversity is everything. I would like to see some 6 7 feet pokot turkana samburu boys in the NBA.
Hahaha,alot goes into NBA than height.
Other than height, what's "alot" you talking about?
Coordination, dribbling skills, flexibility,quickness,ability to jump,weight...
Passion and training. Their brothers from south Sudan have prospered in the NBA due to visibility as refugees in the West
What next for Angela ,considering the poor facilities and lack of finance she has done very well indeed. ITF so far has facilitated her participation but next year she has to look after herself as she join the senior tour . I wish she could be able to join college in the USA the only country where colleges have competitions. Sh has to get out of Kenya to succeed . There are no professional trainers or proper training facilities in Kenya and even if she has no money for joining tennis academy . this talented girl need support . ( juniors do not get prize money all she has to take home is the trophy ) hopefully Kenya airways upgraded her to business on her flight home . well done girl you should be very proud of yourself
@Loise, you raise a very important point,and that is scholarship. Tennis being one of the most popular sports in the world, there are many colleges in USA ,and pretty much in most advanced worlds that offer scholarships for it.There are also talent scouts who go to competitions such as Junior Wimbledon for talent search. Iam sure as her profile rises,her phone calls will start ringing.
Bottom line, if you have thought of it, someone else has,and I hope they would help facilitate her progress...