Okutoyi last Kenyan standing at World Tennis Tour

Kenya’s Angella Okutoyi and Nagomi Higashitani are through to the semi-finals of the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour (W25) tournament in Nairobi.

They caused a major upset by tossing out the second-seeded pair of Maria Fernanda Herazo Gonzalez (Colombia)/Ksenia Laskutova 7-6(3), 7-5 on the clay courts of the Karen Country Club on Wednesday. 

In both sets, Okutoyi/Higashitani came from behind to level at 5-5 before running away with the victory.

The victory came as solace for Okutoyi,19, who gave Chinese Jia-Jing Lu,34, a scare before going down fighting 6-4, 6-4 in an hour and 41 minutes in a second-round singles tie.

Okutoyi, who was the only Kenyan surviving in the main draw in singles after the early exits of Alicia Owegi, Stacy Yego, Cynthia Wanjala, and Faith Urasa, fought back from 4-1 in the first set to come within one game of leveling the scores at 5-4 but double-faulted as Lu won back-to-back break points to lead 1-0.

Okutoyi (939) again had to come from behind in the second set, tying the games at 3-3, but was not able to topple Lu (368). 

The 2022 Wimbledon Junior doubles champion is the only Kenyan player remaining in the competition after Wanjala, Owegi, Asumwa, and Urasa dropped out at the round of 16 in the doubles event. Okutoyi/Higashitani defeated Stefanie Auer (Austria)/Sophie Luescher (Switzerland) 6-4, 6-2 in the round 16 on Tuesday.

Reacting to her singles result against Lu, Okutoyi said, “I just needed to take my chances, make fewer errors, play free, and not be too tentative."

The 2018 and 2022 Kenya Open champion was delighted with her performance in doubles.

“In doubles, there is always a way (back), even if you’re down many times” she said.