Africa's tennis talents embark on 'marathon' journey to elite success

After Angella Okutoyi’s gold at the African Games, there is hope the sport can break new ground on the continent

- Tumaini Carayol

As the tennis competition at the African Games in Accra reached the semi-final stage last week, Kenya's Angella Okutoyi entered uncharted territory. Across the net from the world No 532 stood Mayar Sherif of Egypt, an elite player ranked No 70. With a potential Olympic spot on the line for the tournament winner, the stakes were stratospheric. Over four hours later, incredibly, Okutoyi, 20, emerged with a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(5) win before leaving Ghana with a gold medal.

In Okutoyi's short career, making history has become a regular occurrence. In 2022, she became the first Kenyan to win a match at a junior grand slam tournament, the Australian Open, which she followed up by winning the Wimbledon 2022 girls' doubles title alongside Rose Marie Nijkamp of the Netherlands. Her hopes and dreams on the professional circuit reflect one of the most pressing questions in elite tennis: can the sport provide a pathway for black African tennis players to reach the top?

Despite tennis being such a global sport, Africa has long been in its blind spot, both in terms of the presence of its nations on the tours and participation at grassroots level. Notable exceptions have come from South Africa and also in the form of Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, one of the great trailblazers of her time, who has reached No 2 in the rankings and three grand slam finals. Sherif herself has followed in Jabeur's footsteps, rising to a career high of No 31 last year. In sub-Saharan Africa, historically, few players or events have reached the sport's elite. Over the past year, though, certain countries have made progress to help players take the step up.

In Burundi last year, Bujumbura hosted a women's professional event for the first time, with back-to-back ITF World Tennis Tour competitions, and the home favourite Sada Nahimana reached a final as the top seed. The tournament will return next month for a second edition.