Angela Okutoyi almost attained the dream of becoming the first ever Kenyan woman to play tennis at the Olympics when she won the Africa Games title in 2024, but her dream was halted as she had not achieved a top 400 ranking required by the International Tennis Federation(ITF) for the Games.
Okutoyi had hoped that winning the African Games would be a ticket to her dream, but the ITF’s rules did not allow that. Not even an appeal by Tennis Kenya would bend the rule in her favour.
The 20-year old sensation, now based in the United States, was heartbroken, but believes the setback has only worked to fan her flames towards the next Games in 2028, which will be held on ‘home soil’, in Los Angeles.
Being one of the shining lights in Kenyan and East African tennis, Okutoyi believes that the sweat of her toil, which has moved her from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of the African game, will not go to waste.
Raised by her grandmother after losing her biological mother during birth, Okutoyi has waded through the murky waters of a game not so common in Kenya to be a sports star that everyone currently admires.
She managed to get a sports scholarship to the United States last year, where she is combining both her studies and her tennis dreams. Her biggest aim; to be Kenya’s very own Serena Williams.
She speaks to Telecomasia.net on that Olympics broken dream, her experience playing Collegiate tennis in the United States, and her dreams for the future.
- 2024 was by far a very successful year for you, but the dream for an Olympic place was shattered. How devastating was this for you?
- Missing the Olympics really hit me a lot. After winning the Africa Games, I knew that I had qualified but with the rules, there was nothing I could do. I think if we had known the rule change early enough I would have strived to play more tournaments. It is hard for some of us in college who are not fully professional to make it into more tournaments within such a short period of time.
It was really frustrating but the good thing is that I had people around me who really supported me especially in College. It didn’t happen and I move on, I now focus on the future.
- Has that miss now made you even hungrier to seek Olympic qualification in LA ’28?
- Definitely yes. I have all my eyes on the LA Games and I know I can qualify and attain that dream. I have more time now to play more tournaments and improve my ranking and I am so much confident that this time round I will be on Team Kenya for the Olympics. I am hungrier, better and I am more determined.
- Despite the Olympics miss, 2024 was generally a good year for you. How do you sum it up?
- Yeah 2024 was really great and I achieved so much individually. I won the Africa Games title, the first time a Kenyan was winning it in over 40 years, I qualified for the NCAA Games which in US College Games is the biggest because only 64 get to play in that stage so basically, it was a good year for me.
- Speaking about the US, it has been almost a year now of you relocating. How has it been for you?
- It has been pretty nice to be honest and I have enjoyed the ride. College tennis in the US is different especially because of the atmosphere and when you are serving or playing there would be people shouting and making noise and you have to be mentally locked in all the time and I think that has really helped me. The training there is nice, my teammates are really fun to train with and very competitive and this has really been a great experience for me.
- In terms of lifestyle and culture, how has the change been for you?
- Of course the freshman year was really tough because I was new, I didn’t know a lotof people, the entire experience was really new to me and I had to quickly adjust. But my teammates, the coaches and everyone around me helped me settle. After a few weeks, I think I was okay because everyone was friendly, caring and willing to help. It has been a great experience from there.
- You are expected to do well both in class and on the court and also go for tournaments. Has balancing been a challenge?
- At first yes, it was a bit challenging for me but now that I am used to it, it is pretty easy. My professors are really flexible and they allow me to skip some classes to travel for tournaments and personally I also get to do studies early in advance before I travel because as much as I have to do well in tennis, I also have to pass my grades. I am now doing it better, trying to give a balance to both.
- If you compare yourself between now and a year back when you had just moved, how much of an improvement do you see?
- Honestly, there is a lot of improvement since I joined college. I play with and against way older players and I have had to adapt quickly to that and it has really boosted my confidence especially when I beat them. The training there is intense and definitely over time, you find yourself playing better.
- You started off your year at home at the W35 tournament winning silver in both the singles and the doubles. Was this a perfect bounce into 2025?
- My target was to win but I am definitely proud of what I achieved. I always love playing at gome because the home crowd is always there for me and they show genuine trust and I am always proud to represent Kenya. It is a blessing to begin the year here.
- What big plans do you have for 2025?
I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. My biggest aim is to enjoy every tournament and every game. When I enjoy, I always play unbelievable tennis and everything falls into place.
- Finally, you have been a shining light for Kenyan and East African tennis for a few years and despite only being 20, there are so many looking up to you. What would be one piece of advice you can give them?
- If you put your mind into something, you can achieve it, no matter how big or small it is. Just be consistent and believe in what we are capable of doing. One tag line I use; NO weakness. Never show weakness. Always show strength even though sometimes its hard, the little strength you show can change something.
