Africa junior tennis champion Angela Okutoyi has been handed a bye to the third round of the Nottingham Open in the United Kingdom.
Okutoyi is using the event to prepare for the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Championships starting on July 2 at the All England Club in London.
The country's youngest Kenya Open champion will face Great Britain's Given Roach and relish the challenge of competing against the top players, especially on the grass-court surface.
"I'm looking forward to the event as I hardly play on grass. Most of the time, we play on hardcourt and clay court and I am relishing the challenge,” added Okutoyi.
She said she will take one game at a time during the week-long championship, where she has also been entered in the doubles category.
"For me, It's one game at a time. The opponents here are very good but I also have belief in myself that I can do well and compete,” added Okutoyi.
The Nottingham Open will be an eye-opener for Okutoyi, especially in terms of mastering the grass-court surface. She is also expected to play in the Roehampton tournament a week later.
“I believe by the time we go for the junior championship, I will be well versed with the grasscourt surface and be competitive,” she noted.
Okutoyi's coach Thunk Rogoi said Okutoyi will be looking to improve her ranking from the current 61 with the top 50 her target.
“It's our prayer that she moves up in the ranking and inspires other young Kenyan players,” said Rogoi.
The coach said before departure, that they worked on her forehand return and service game. "We worked on those two facets and going forward, you will see an improvement in her performances."
Elsewhere, six Kenyan players have been entered for the J5 ITF junior tennis tournaments at the Nairobi Club. Albert Jogging will grace the event alongside Edwin Gichio, Alvin Kimathi, Sahib Singh Chana and Hanie Resh.
