Africa Games tennis champion, Angela Okutoyi/ FILE Fresh from winning a silver medal at the World University Games in Germany, the Africa Games champion Angela Okutoyi has her sights on leading the country to glory at the Billie Jean King Cup tournament set for August 4-11 in Namibia.
Okutoyi, who will skipper the six-man team, believes she is in a strong position, having had two months of intense preparations on the European circuit.
“ Winning silver alongside Kael Shah shows our tennis standards in the country are headed in the right direction. I am well prepared for the challenge, both mentally and physically, and we aim to gain promotion to Group two for 2026,” observed Okutoyi.
The rest of the squad includes Cynthia Cheruto, Alicia Owegi, Stacy Yego, and Melissa Mwakha.
The three-time Kenya Open champion believes they have learned their lessons from last year's crushing loss to both Nigeria and South Africa in the knockout rounds—a move that saw the country miss out on promotion.
"Last year, we came up short in the two key matches against South Africa and Nigeria. However, since last year, the team has had competitive games in several tournaments, which I believe will aid our cause as we battle for the sole promotion slot,” added Okutoyi.
The six-man squad have had time to play on the hard court surfaces which will be used in the Namibian capital, according to coach and captain Francis Rogoi.
"A good number of the players in the tournament have played on the hard court surface, which will be beneficial when we play in Namibia,” added Rogoi.
He observed that they will take one game at a time in the week-long championship. “We don't want to put the team under pressure, and we will take one game at a time. We don't know our opponents yet because the pooling will be done next week when we arrive,” observed Rogoi.
Elsewhere, Team Kenya will be represented by a six-man team at the ITF/CAT 12 and under Eastern Africa Team Championship in Dar-es-salaam.
The tournament, which starts today, will see Imani Kavuisya, Malia Orendo and Naila Gikunda represent the country in the girls category, while Fidel Castro, Muyanze Kahi and Indiatsi Olembo will feature in the boys category.
The team will be under the stewardship of coaches Caroline Oduor and Wycliff Okenye.
