NAIROBI, Kenya, January 8, 2025 – Kenya’s Angella Okutoyi put up a dogged performance to defeat Switzerland’s Katerina Tsygourova in the first round of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) W35 Women’s World Tour at the Nairobi Club on Wednesday afternoon.
The African Games champion was made to sweat before ultimately winning 7-6(2) 6-3 in a match that dragged from mid-morning until the late afternoon.
Okutoyi was out to atone for her exit in the semi-finals of the first week of the competition, where she lost 6-4 2-6 3-6 to Joanna Garland of Chinese Taipei at the same venue.
It wasn’t to be an easy walk on the clay court, however, as the youngster had to deal with an equally determined opponent.
A first set that took one hour and 41 minutes finally came to an end as Okutoyi excelled 7-6.
Buoyed by a vociferous home crowd, Okutoyi was able to pull all stops in the second set to eventually make light work of the Swiss.
Her opponent in the next round will be Poland’s Monika Stankiewicz who defeated Dutchwoman Demi Tran 6-2 7-5 at the same venue.
Wanjala unfortunate
Another Kenya in contention on the day, Cynthia Wanjala, fell at the first hurdle after losing 6-0 6-0 to seventh seed Rinon Okuwaki of Japan.
Meanwhile, Burundian top seed Sada Nahimana made light work of Italian Gloria Contrino, whitewashing her 6-0 6-0.
Action at the one-week tournament continues on Thursday.
