Tennis sensation Angela Okutoyi has set her sights on qualifying for the Olympic Games later in the year.
The two-time Kenya Open champion must be in the top 56 in the WTA rankings by June this year or win the All Africa Games title in March in Ghana to book her ticket to sport's biggest extravaganza in the French capital.
The teenage sensation is currently ranked 590 in the latest rankings—299 places up—following her win at the W25 tournament at the Nairobi Club.
It was a double celebration for Okutoyi as she also bagged the doubles category after teaming up with Burundian Sada Nahimana to defeat third seeds Jessie Aney of the USA and Lena Papadakis 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 in a hard-fought match.
The 2022 Wimbledon doubles champion, who defeated German Lena Papadakis 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 in the singles final, said she is confident she can book a ticket to the Paris Olympics.
"Winning the W25 tournament was a big boost for me and this has motivated me to work harder in the new year and look at qualifying for the Olympics in July,” said Okutoyi.
Okutoyi said she will be looking to improve her rankings by playing a couple of tournaments in the first quarter of the year.
“I'm confident if I play more tournaments in the new year, my ranking will improve. My overall goal is to be in the top 100 in the next couple of years,” she observed
She observed a change of tact helped her win the singles and doubles category at the W25 tournament after a poor first tournament, where she won the doubles category but was eliminated in the second round of the singles.
“My service game was poor but I worked on it and made some adjustments which paid off in the second tournament,” added Okutoyi
Okutoyi said one of the targets for the new year will be to gain promotion in the Billie Jean King Cup Group Two tournament.
