President Uhuru Kenyatta has congratulated teenage tennis sensation Angela Okutoyi for being the first Kenyan to win a Grand Slam.
Okutoyi,18, and her Dutch compatriot Rose Marie Nijkamp beat Canadian pair Kayla Cross and Victoria Mboko by 2 sets to 1 to clinch the girls’ doubles victory at Wimbledon yesterday.
Kenyatta hailed Okutoyi’s historic victory as a momentous achievement that has not only lifted Kenya’s profile in world tennis but will also inspire a generation of young players to excel in the sport.
After tying with the Canadian team after two sets, Okutoyi and her partner had to put in the extra effort. The Canadians lost 11-9 against Nijkamp and Okutoyi (3-6, 6-4) in the tiebreaker.
The duo won the doubles Junior Championships final at Wimbledon over the Canadian team of Kayla Cross and Victoria Mboko.
On Friday, July 8, Okutoyi made history by becoming the first Kenyan woman to reach a Wimbledon final.
The 18-year-old, who was competing in the junior doubles tournament with Nijkamp, advanced to the championship match by defeating Lucija Ciric Bagaric and Nikola Daubnerova in straight sets (6-3, 6-4).
The second set was off to a rough start for Okutoyi and his partner, who fell behind 1-0 early on before mounting an incredible comeback to win 6-4.
On Wednesday, Okutoyi and her partner defeated Dominika Salkova and Linda Klimovicova of the Czech Republic (7-6, 6-4) to advance to the semi-final. The game-winning ace was served by the Kenyan gem.
After their semifinal victory, Okutoyi praised her Dutch partner in her speech.
“The match was interesting but not easy at all. However, my partner and I really fought through it. We were losing it but we kept calm and strong and that’s how we got the win,” she lauded her partner.