"Serena Williams’ story is inspiring, her determination and hard work year in year out is what keeps me going" - How the American influenced Kenya's Angella Okutoyi on her Wimbledon girls' doubles journey
Serena Williams has inspired countless fellow tennis players over the years and Kenyan tennis history-maker Angella Okutoyi became the latest to join the chorus of players idolizing Williams. The Kenyan teenager admires the 23-time singles Grand Slam champion's hard work and determination and aims to emulate the same.
Okutoyi became the first Kenyan player to win a Grand Slam title after she clinched the Wimbledon girls' doubles title on Saturday. The 18-year-old, who was also the first Kenyan to win a girls' singles match at a Major courtesy of her first win at the 2022 Australian Open, spoke about gaining inspiration from Serena Williams during an interview earlier this year.
“Serena Williams’s story is inspiring. What she has achieved throughout her career is unbelievable. Her determination and hard work year in year out is what keeps me going," Okutoyi said of the American superstar.
At the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, the unseeded pair of Angella Okutoyi and Rose Marie Nijkamp stunned fourth seeds Kayla Cross and Victoria Mboko in the final to win the title. Okutoyi bowed out in the first round of the singles event. She previously made the third round at the 2022 Australian Open juniors event.
TENNIS - Take a bow. Angela OKUTOYI is the first Kenyan to win a Grand Slam. #Wimbledon A huge congratulations 👏 https://t.co/gXbYjh3hjR
While Okutoyi takes inspiration from Serena Williams, her own story is quite inspiring, to say the least. Oprhaned at birth and raised by her grandmother, the Kenyan youngster recalled her early struggles and how she overcame them.
“We (Angela and her sister) started with nothing, she (grandmother) had four jobs to keep me on the pitch, at one time we slept on the couch. For a family with no money, we may have looked and sounded crazy. Children would laugh at us, call us names, we became the joke, but we kept our heads down. We did our fighting with actions on track,” Okutoyi said during the interview.
“I come from a humble background. Growing up, I was heavily into sports like cricket and tennis and my grandmother and coach were very supportive, but I knew deep down the expenses were a lot for them to manage,” she added.
She fought through those challenges and made waves in the tennis world, becoming one of the top players in her country. Okutoyi has won nine singles titles and 11 doubles titles on the ITF circuit. Meanwhile, her twin sister Roselida Asumwa is also thriving on the ITF circuit. With both sisters already being regarded among the top players in the country, they share a bit of similarity in that regard with Serena and Venus Williams.
Wimbledon's first Kenyan champion 🇰🇪
@Okutoyiangella2 and Dutch partner Rose Marie Nijkamp win the girls’ doubles title after a brilliant comeback victory
#Wimbledon https://t.co/1tI9TM5dUl
Serena Williams intends to play at the 2022 US Open
Serena Williams recently played her first competitive singles match in over a year at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. While her tennis future after the Wimbledon exit (lost to Harmony Tan) remains uncertain, the 40-year-old did express her intention to play the US Open, which is her home Grand Slam and where she is a six-time singles champion.
"When you are at home, especially in New York, and knowing that the US Open is the first Grand Slam I have won, it is definitely something super special. Your first time is always special. I have a lot of motivation to improve and to play at home," Serena Williams said.
Williams last played at the US Open in 2020, where she reached the semifinals as the third seed, eventually losing to Victoria Azarenka. Her last title at the New York Major came back in 2014, when she defeated Caroline Wozniacki in the final. She has also won most of her Grand Slam matches at the US Open, where she holds a 106-14 win-loss record in singles.