Unstoppable: Angella Okutoyi stages two separate comebacks to make Bethany Beach quarterfinal

Kenyan tennis star Angella Okutoyi on Thursday took a notable leap towards qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics as she qualified for the quarterfinals of the W35 Bethany Beach Women’s Singles tournament in Delaware.

Okutoyi, who is in a tight race to be among the top 400 players in the world by June 10, had to do it the hard way, as she dismissed two Americans within hours.

First, the 20-year-old had to stage an impressive comeback against Csilla Fedor in the Round of 32 duel, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The same fighting spirit was shown in her last 16 matchup, as she came back from going a set down to beat Ashton Bowers 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The two wins now sets up Okutoyi for a quarter final tie with Swedish 26-year-old Rinaldo Persson.

The game takes place at Court 26 on Friday, the same day when Okutoyi plays in a doubles quarterfinal against the American duo of Ashton Bowers and Mia Yamakita.

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Okutoyi’s partner is Ukrainian Anita Sadhiieva, with whom they prevailed in Tuesday’s last 16 duel against the aforementioned Fodor and Jane Dunyon.

The two wins in the singles tournament go a long way in improving Okutoyi’s position in the World Tennis rankings.

The 2023 Kenya Open champion is currently placed 521st, and will hope to make it through to the last four in Delaware to get a bigger jump.

After Bethany Beach, Okutoyi will wrap up her qualification journey with an appearance at the W15 tournament in San Diego from May 27 to June 2.