Africa junior champion Angella Okutoyi has left the country to compete in two tournaments in Australia as she eyes a top-30 place in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior rankings.
Okutoyi, who flew out to Australia at 7.40am via Doha, Qatar, will compete in J1 Traralgon slated for January 14-19 and the JA Australian Open from January 22-29.
Ranked 60th in the latest International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior rankings announced on January 3, which is her new career-high, Okutoyi told Nation Sport she hopes she can reach the quarter-final stage in Australia.
“I have practised for two weeks after breaking for Christmas. My preparations have been good. I have been training on the hard courts more because that is the surface we will use in Australia,” said Okutoyi.
“My aim is to give my best and come back home with great results, hopefully reach the quarters of the Australian Open Juniors,” noted Okutoyi, who became the first Kenya to lift the African Junior Championship title in November 2021 in Sousse, Tunisia.
Okutoyi’s last competition was the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour in Monastir, Tunisia on December 6.
She retired after two games in the first round of the qualifying draw against Tanuchaporn Yongmod from Thailand due to shoulder and wrist problems.
“I learnt from the Futures tournament in Monastir that you have to change your mindset because you are longer playing with kids or junior players. That you are playing with grown-ups, people who even have kids, so you have to change your mentality and be strong and put in the hard work,” explained the 2018 Kenya Open champion who turns 18 on January 29.
Okutoyi says that her target this year is to be in the top-30 bracket in the ITF Junior rankings.
Her coach Francis Rogoi reiterated that Okutoyi has prepared well and is ready for the challenge.
“There is no putting pressure on her for results but performance,” explained Rogoi on Saturday.
Okutoyi rested on Saturday after finalising her preparations at the residence of former Kenyan international Phillip Ilako in Karen. Ilako had a career-high ranking of 793 in 1984.
Okutoyi featured in Under-14 tournaments in the USA, France, Belgium and Germany in 2018. She will be competing in Australia for the first time ever. BY DAILY NATION