Tennis player Angella Okutoyi has secured her maiden Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) title after partnering Burundi’s Sada Nahimana to win the women’s doubles championship at the 2026 Angola Ladies Open.
The 22-year-old and her Burundian partner defeated Poland’s Martyna Kubka and Lithuania’s Justina Mikulskytė 6-4, 6-4 in the final on Saturday, November 7, at Lwena Court in Luanda, Angola.
The victory marked Okutoyi’s first professional title on the WTA circuit and another major milestone in her career, which already includes a Wimbledon girls’ doubles championship and an African Games gold medal.
Okutoyi celebrated the achievement after the final, thanking Nahimana for partnering with her during the tournament and acknowledging the significance of winning her first WTA trophy alongside the Burundian.
“I want to congratulate our opponents for such a good match, but we got the win, and I know one day you will too. I want to thank Sada for playing with me.
“It was very nice, and this was the third time we have played together and won. Especially, this being my first WTA title and winning it with you means a lot, so thank you so much,” Okutoyi said.
The Kenyan-Burundian pairing began its campaign with a straight-sets victory over France’s Tiphanie Lemaître and Egypt’s Sandra Samir in the round of 16.
They won the match 6-2, 7-5 to advance to the quarter-finals, where they were scheduled to face Maayan Laron and Madhurima Sawant.
However, their opponents withdrew, allowing Okutoyi and Nahimana to progress through a walkover.
The pair then faced the tournament’s top seeds, China’s Zongyu Li and Slovenia’s Kristina Novak, in the semi-finals on Friday, November 6. Okutoyi and Nahimana produced another strong performance, beating the top-seeded duo 7-5, 7-5 to book their place in the championship match.
They completed their campaign with a straight-sets victory over second seeds Kubka and Mikulskytė, winning 6-4, 6-4 to lift the doubles trophy.
The Angola triumph also marked the third tournament the two players had won together as a partnership.
Nahimana, 25, praised Okutoyi’s contribution and thanked her for agreeing to play alongside her throughout the competition.
“I’m so happy today. I want to congratulate Justina and Kubka for a good match, but I also want to thank Angie for agreeing to play with me throughout the week. She plays well and is amazing,” Nahimana said.
The doubles victory earned Okutoyi and Nahimana US$5,700 (approximately Sh741,458), which they will share as the tournament champions.
The inaugural Angola Ladies Open featured a total prize purse of US$115,000, with a 32-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles competition. The WTA 125 event ran from November 2 to 8 on outdoor hard courts at the Kikuxi Tennis Academy in Luanda.
The championship also gave Okutoyi a valuable boost in the WTA doubles rankings. She reached No. 174, matching her career-high position, while her singles ranking stood at No. 415.
The title came during her first appearance in a WTA main-draw tournament. However, her singles campaign ended in the opening round after Russia’s eighth seed Sofya Lansere defeated her 6-0, 7-5 on November 3.
Nahimana also exited the singles competition in the first round before the two players combined to pursue the doubles title.
