Kenya’s 20-year-old tennis sensation Angella Okutoyi went into the history books on Thursday 21 March 2024 as she bagged the African tennis title after beating Egypt’s Lamis Elhussein 6-4, 6-2 in the All-African Games Women’s Singles final staged in Accra, Ghana.
Just a day after recording her biggest upset yet when she beat the top seed and defending champion Mayar Sherif in the semis, Okutoyi went the full distance as she claimed the title with a commanding straight-set win.
Elhussein caused little trouble for Okutoyi in the first set as the Kenyan youngster won 6-4 to lay the perfect foundation for her win.
The Egyptian took a brief 1-0 lead in the second set but Okutoyi quickly regained control of the tie as she got the job done with a 6-2 second set win that delivered the African crown.
The win meant that Okutoyi broke Kenya’s 46-year drought without a tennis gold medal as she became only the second Kenyan to achieve that feat since Jane Davies-Doxzon who won gold in the 1978 African Games held in Algeria.
The USA-based student, who made history by becoming the first Kenyan to win a Grand Slam when she won the 2022 Wimbledon Girls Doubles title, follows in the footsteps of Doxzon and Susan Wakhungu who won gold and silver respectively in singles in 1978 in Algeria.
Paul Wekesa (bronze in 1987 in Nairobi) and Saeed Cockar and Yashvin Shretta (bronze) in men’s doubles in 1965 in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo are the other Kenyans who have managed to get medals in the African Games.
