Angella Okutoyi, a rising star in the Kenyan tennis scene, triumphed in the women’s singles competition, defeating her Egyptian opponent Abdelaziz Lamis in convincing straight sets (6-4, 6-2) at the 13th African Games in Ghana.
ALL AFRICAN GAMES 🇰🇪🥇
First I wanna thank GOD for getting me this far 🙏🏿
Second wanna thank my team , my federation, NOCK , my school , people back home and everyone who l haven’t mentioned and my fans
This just means so much to me a childhood dream coming to light… pic.twitter.com/c7TruGVjlC— Angella Okutoyi (@Okutoyiangella2) March 21, 2024
Okutoyi becomes the first Kenyan to win the title in 46 years since Jane Davies-Doxzon.
Angella Okutoyi is the 2024 African Games singles champion 🇰🇪🥇
The World No. 532 will be able to take her direct qualification spot to @Paris2024 if she climbs into the world’s top 400 by 10 June. #AfricanGames pic.twitter.com/Opub9oRpak
— ITF (@ITFTennis) March 21, 2024
On the other hand, Okutoyi, alongside Cynthia Cheruto, won silver in the women’s doubles.
According to the ITF, Okutoyi, who is ranked 532 in the world, needs to break into the top 400 by June 10 to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In 2023, Okutoyi made history by becoming the first player to secure both singles and doubles titles in an ITF W25 event on December 23.
She defeated Germany’s Lena Papadakis 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 to win the singles title, then beat Jessie Aney and Papadakis with her partner Sada Nahimana to win the doubles title.
