The All Africa Games women's team will use the next month's inaugural women’s ITF World Tennis Tour at the Nairobi Club as a build-up for the Morocco show.
The team comprising of Faith Nyabera, Angela Okutoyi, Rosehilda Asumwa, Judy Nkatha and Alicia Owegi, has been training at the Nairobi Club ahead of the continental extravaganza slated for August 19-31 in Rabat.
Coach Peter Wachira has termed the women's tour event as key preparation for the All Africa Games as it will bring together the top players from across the world.
"We want to give the girls the best possible chance to medal at the games and they will use the tournament at the Nairobi Club to test themselves against the best and prepare adequately," added Wachira.
Okutoyi is upbeat about her chances at the ITF Tennis Tour after winning a leg of the circuit recently by beating Aisha Niyonkuru of Burundi 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in the final at the Nairobi Club.
"My current form is quite good and by winning the ITF leg recently, it has given me a big boost and I am looking forward to the Women'ss Futures tournament and the All Africa Games," added Okutoyi.
Ismail Changawa, Ibrahim Kibet, Kevin Cheruiyot and Sheil Kotecha are in the men's squad and have been in Spain for the past two weeks sharpening their skills under top Spanish coaches.
They will play in the futures tennis tournaments in Morocco as well as prepare for the All Africa Games at the Moundir Tennis Academy in Casablanca. The men's team will also play in the Davis Cup which Kenya is hosting in September.
Albert Njogu and Derrick Ominde are part of the squad and are currently training in Nairobi due to school commitments.
Albert is in the fourth year at Glory Secondary School, preparing to sit for his O-Level exams this year. Derrick, on the other hand, is a full-time player at the East Africa High-Performance Centre, where he has a comprehensive training program while in Year Two of the Pennfoster school program.
