Table of Contents
- Tennis Kenya is gearing up for the Billie Jean King Cup with planned international and continental tournaments
- Billie Jean King Cup will be held from August 4 to August 11 in Shenzhen, China
- Rogoi said these tournaments are critical for team Tennis Kenya ahead of the Billie Jean King Cup debacle
Tennis Kenya is gearing up for the Billie Jean King Cup with planned international and continental build-up tennis tournaments.
Billie Jean King Cup will be held from August 4 to August 11 in Shenzhen, China. Kenya is positioning itself as an African tennis haven through international championships.
Already, Kenyan tennis star Angela Okutoyi has put the East African country on the global map as far as tennis is concerned. Okutoyi is the undisputed Kenyan tennis ambassador.
Kenya Tennis Billie Jean King Tennis Cup Preparations
Francis Rogoi, the Kenya Tennis team captain has put together a senior and junior team playing in Africa, America and Europe.
The Junior team has Stacy Yego, Seline Ahoya and Nancy Kawira playing in Rwanda, Tunisia, South Africa and Uganda.
Rogoi’s senior team has Okutoyi, Melissa Mwakha, Cynthia Cheruto and Alicia Owegi playing in the US, Africa and Europe.
Okutoyi is already training in Paris, France, while Owegi is training in the US, representing her home country in the collegiate tennis circuit.
Mwakha has a set of matches to play in Namibia for the next two weeks.
Team Tennis Kenya at past event. Five players from the junior and senior squad will represent Kenya at the Billie Jean King Cup in Shenzhen.. The tournament will go down in August. Photo/Angela Okuoyi
Rogoi said these tournaments are critical for Team Tennis Kenya ahead of the Billie Jean King Cup debacle.
He believes that these tournaments are great for building players’ mental strength and playing skills while under pressure.
Billie’s tournament is highly competitive and requires all players to be in top physical and mental form.
Exposing them to similar situations months before the tournament in Shenzhen is a great strategy for Tennis Kenya.
Rogoi will select five players from the junior and senior teams to play in the August tournament.
Both teams currently have eight players, and they have an onerous task to prove themselves in their respective training camps.
The Team Kenya coach is currently engaging respective coaches where these players are training and participating in different matches.
Angel Okutoyi Ranking
With the Billie Jean King tournament coming up, curiosity among tennis fans regarding Okutoyi remains high. She is in Paris getting ready for the big stage again.
Kenya tennis star Angela Okutoyi. Photo/Capital FM
She is currently ranked world No. 506 in the WTA singles rankings. She has won 6 international matches and lost only one.
Okutoyi made headlines in 2022 after winning a Grand Slam title at Wimbledon Girl’s Doubles together with Rose Marie Nijkamp.
She also won a gold medal in 2023 at the African Games Singles event. This was Kenya’s first gold medal since 1978.
Her fame was partly fanned by her 2022 Australian Open stellar performance, where she won the girl’s junior singles Grand Slam.
Who is the Best Tennis Player in Kenya?
Okutouyi is the best female player Tennis Kenya currently has. She is the first Kenyan tennis player to win a Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2022.
The 21-year-old also won a gold medal at the 2024 Africa Games, the first since 1978.
She follows in the steps of legendary tennis players from Kenya such as Suzanne Wakhungu, Paul Wekesa and Roger Dowdeswell.
Tennis is just more than a game for Okutoyi. It’s her life, and her dream is to scale the WTA rankings. She wants to be the Kenyan ‘Iga Swiatek.’
