Brilliant Okutoyi comes second at W15 World Tennis Tour

Kenyan tennis sensation Angella Okutoyi on Sunday came short of writing another history on home soil after losing 6-3, 6-2 to top seed Emily Seibold in the final of W15 Nairobi World Tennis Tour at Karen Country Club in Nairobi.

The former African Under-18 champion was hoping to become the first ever Kenyan to clinch the international tournament that had attracted a total of 45 players from 21 countries before being stopped by the 22-year-old German.

The Wimbledon Doubles Junior champion, who was awarded a three-year membership at Karen Country Club in August this year, was congratulated despite losing the final by former Marathon record holder and current National Olympic Committee of Kenya president Paul Tergat.

On the Brightside, before the ongoing W15 Nairobi, Okutoyi had never gone past second round in eight W15 tournaments since her debut in Nairobi in August 2019.

Okutoyi, who has a career-high of 1501 in WTA Singles Rankings, will now shift her focus to the second W15 Nairobi tournament slated for November 22-28 at the same venue.

The Wimbledon doubles junior champion defeated second-seed Romeo Caroline from France 2- 1 (6- 2, 3-6, 7-6) in Saturday's semifinals to glide into the finals set for Sunday at the Karen Country Club.

Previously, the Kenya seed one had knocked out third-seed Emma Tothova from Slovakia in straight sets on Friday.