Tennis Kenya to build two hard courts in Kasarani

Following the historic achievement of poster girl Angella Okutoyi who in July 2022 became the first Kenyan to win a Grand Slam tournament, Tennis Kenya is set to construct two courts at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani as part of plans to further develop the game in the country and enhance its reach to players, Mozzart Sport can confirm.

According to Secretary General Wanjiru Mbugua, plans are already in motion to see to it that two hard court surfaces are up and running to help the sport continue tapping the new found fame after Okutoyi’s historic performance as well as provide public opportunities for existing players already in the game as tennis courts remain in the hands of restricted private venues.

Tennis ace Angella Okutoyi lifts prestigious Wimbledon title to become first ever Kenyan to win a Grand Slam

Initially, the plan had been for the government to help in constructing the public centre at Kasarani from as way back as 2018 but, so far, that has not gone as anticipated with Wanjiru revealing that they will no longer wait for the promise that has remained to be just that at the moment.

“The truth is we are not going to wait for the government. We had started the planning but it had stalled. So now, we want to start by building two hard courts in Kasarani because we are sure we can get the money from well-wishers. The bigger one will still come but that should be later.

We are heading to the stage where we will take our construction plans to the County for approval and for the green light to proceed. There is a lot of hope and we have a lot of energy because this is what Okutoyi winning does to everybody,” the Secretary General told Mozzart Sport.

Additionally, Wanjiru revealed that the International Tennis Federation (ITF) have accepted to give Kenya a facility grant of 50,000 US Dollars (circa Ksh. 5,932,500) which is enough to meet the cost of one court.

“I had a meeting with the ITF at Wimbledon and they are ready to support us and that was very good news. We had applied for a facility grant way back in 2018 and we had received 50,000USD which is enough for just over one court. By now it should have gone but because of Okutoyi’s win they are committed to still give it to us. So we need around 40,000 USD to be able to put up the two courts,” she disclosed.

Angella Okutoyi – Tennis barrier breaker who rose from a children's orphanage to the Grand Slam