She captured the imagination of a nation by making history at the Australian Open Junior Championships in January and the story of Angella Okutoyi’s journey to the Grand Slam stage is a powerful one.

It is a tale of heartbreak, defiance and hope as the Kenyan teenager overcame immense hurdles and defied significant odds to become a household name in Nairobi and beyond at the age of 18.

Okutoyi’s life was not always illuminated by the limelight – far from it, in fact – and there have been some dark times and difficult moments which have shaped her character and outlook.  

Indeed, there are reminders everywhere, some of which are unavoidable, while others are deliberately placed to inspire. Okutoyi’s WhatsApp profile picture, for instance, is not of her Australian Open exploits, but a photograph of herself aged six.

“I keep this photograph because it reminds me of where I came from,” Okutoyi tells ITFWorld. “It is a picture of when I was young and at the place where I started to play tennis.

This story first appeared in the spring 2022 edition of ITFWorld. To read the remainder of the article, please click here, or click the image below.