- Angella Okutoyi has made it to the semifinal of the ITF W35 Nairobi World Tour after beating Poland’s Monika Stankiewicz.
- Okutoyi had qualified for the quarterfinals after China’s Yufei Ren failed to complete the match due to an injury.
- The Kenyan will lock horns with another Polish player in Zuzanna Pawlikowska in the semifinal, who demolished Burundi’s Sada Nahimana.
Kenya’s Angella Okutoyi has made it to the semifinals of the 2025 International Tennis Federation (ITF) W35 Nairobi world tour.
Okutoyi achieved that feat after overcoming Polish teenager Monika Stankiewicz in a closely contested match that was staged at the Nairobi Club on Friday afternoon.
The reigning African Games champion displayed nerves of steel to secure a win of 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in front of her supportive fans.
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Despite the defeat, Stankiewicz will return home with her head held high since she gave the experienced Okutoyi a run for her money.
Okutoyi’s second week of the tournament has been a smooth one. The Auburn University student squeezed past Switzerland’s Katerina Tsygourova (7-6, 6-3) in the first round before overpowering China’s Yufei Ren in the round of 16.
Ren was forced to stop playing in the game in which Okutoyi had already won the first set 6-2 and was narrowly leading 4-3 in the second one.
Up next for the Kenyan is a clash against Stankiewicz’s fellow countrywoman Zuzanna Pawlikowska.
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Pawlikowska proceeded to the semifinals after hammering Burundi’s Sada Nahimana in a match that was played on Friday morning.
She won the first set in 7-6(7) before running riot in the second set that saw her pick up a comfortable 6-1 victory.
Most Polish fans were expecting to see their women battle it out in the semis but that will not be the case.
Should Okutoyi defeat Pawlikowska, she will be the favorite to triumph in the final based on home support.
The two-week event that has a weekly prize money of $30,000 (approximately Ksh 3,884, 100 as per the current exchange rate) is expected to end on Sunday, January 12.
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