Kenya fast-rising tennis star Angela Okutoyi has stormed into the ongoing Wimbledon tournament semifinals.
This is after Okutoyi and her Dutch partner Rose Marie Nijkamp put up an impressive performance in the girls doubles to sail through to the semifinals of the Wimbledon juniors.
Okutoyi and Nijkamp outlasted the Czech duo of Linda Klimovicova and Dominika Salkova 2-1 (6-7, 6-4, 11-9) to clinch a spot in the semis.
Beforehand, Okutoyi and her Dutch compatriot had beaten Denislava Glushkova and Hayu Kinoshita 2- 0 (6-2,6-3) in the quarter-finals.
However, her first experience at Wimbledon ended in defeat, but the Kenyan teenager is determined to continue paving the way for African women’s tennis.
Okutoyi, 18, was the first girl from Kenya to play at Wimbledon for over 40 years and aimed to become the first Kenyan player in history to win an All-England Club match at any event.
Okutoyi became a household name back in January as the first Kenyan girl to win a match in a Grand Slam, reaching the juniors’ third round at the Australian Open.
Her achievements attracted the attention of Kenyan-raised Hollywood actress Lupita Nyong’o and led to a surge in interest in tennis in the country.
Okutoyi is currently supported by the International Tennis Federation’s Grand Slam Player Development Program, which provides funding for players from non-traditional tennis countries.
Okutoyi and Nijkamp will now be facing Croatian Lucija Ciric Bagaric and Slovenian Nikola Daubnerova in today’s semifinal at exactly 3pm.