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Okutoyi clinches World Tour W35 title at last!
Kenya's Angella Okutoyi celebrates after winning her semi final match against Zuzanna Pawlikowska of Poland during W35 ITF World Tennis Tour at Parklands Sports Club on January 3, 2026.
What you need to know:
- The 21-year-old Okutoyi burst into tears after stunning fourth-seeded Martina Colmegna of Italy 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
- It was Okutoyi’s first victory in W35 after six attempts last year in Nairobi, the Netherlands, and the United States.
An emotional African Games champion Angella Okutoyi dedicated her International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tour Nairobi W35 victory to her late aunt Cynthia Ndonga, who died on November 29, last year.
The 21-year-old Okutoyi burst into tears after stunning fourth-seeded Martina Colmegna of Italy 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to triumph in the final that lasted two hours and 22 minutes at the Parklands Sports Club, Nairobi on Sunday.
"I badly wanted to win this match. I wanted to do it for my late aunt. It was also my desire to finally break the jinx of not having won any W35 events despite several attempts," said Okutoyi as she battled tears.
Kenya's Angella Okutoyi plays a forehand shot during her semi final match against Zuzanna Pawlikowska of Poland during W35 ITF World Tennis Tour at Parklands Sports Club on January 3, 2026.
"This is for you auntie. I know she would have loved to witness this here, but I am sure she did it at a better place in heaven," said Okutoyi, who went into the event ranked 558 in the world.
It was Okutoyi’s first victory in W35 after six attempts last year in Nairobi, the Netherlands, and the United States of America.
Okutoyi then partnered with her semi-final opponent Zuzanna Pawlikowska from Poland, to win the doubles, beating Alysaa Reuger (France) and Ren Rufei (China) 6-2, 7-5.
Kenya's Angella Okutoyi celebrates after winning her semi final match against Zuzanna Pawlikowska of Poland during W35 ITF World Tennis Tour at Parklands Sports Club on January 3, 2026.
"I want to complete a clean sweep with another victory in the second leg this week," said Okutoyi, who completed a hat-trick of ITF World Tennis Tour singles victories.
Okutoyi made history as the first Kenyan to win at the ITF World Tour when she reigned supreme at the W15 Monastir in Tunisia in 2023 before winning the W25 Nairobi the same year.
Last year, Okutoyi’s W35 quest started in Nairobi in January, where she reached the quarter-final in the first leg, losing to Joanna Garland from Taiwan 6-4, 2-6, 3-6 before reaching the final in the second leg, only to lose again to Garland 1-6, 4-6.
Kenya's Angella Okutoyi celebrates after winning her semi final match against Zuzanna Pawlikowska of Poland during W35 ITF World Tennis Tour at Parklands Sports Club on January 3, 2026.
Okutoyi reached the third round of the W35 Amstelveen in the Netherlands in June and the second round in W35 Berkeley and W35 San Rafael all in California, USA, in September.
She then lost in the semi-finals to Luca Udvardy from Hungary 6-4, 4-6, 2-6 at W35 Orlando, Florida, USA in November before she finally triumphed in Nairobi.
"It was a tough final, both physically and mentally, especially when playing against a roaring partisan crowd. I lost to a better player. It wasn’t my best show," said Colmegna.
The second leg starts on Monday with the qualifying rounds.
