Watch: Kenya's first Grand Slam winner Angella Okutoyi receives a rousing reception on her return to the country after historic Wimbledon

Angella Okutoyi wrote her name into the history books last week, becoming the first Kenyan in history to win a Grand Slam title. Partnering with the Netherlands' Rose Marie Nijkamp, Okutoyi won the Wimbledon girls' doubles title with a 3-6, 6-4, [11]-[9] victory over the all-Canadian pairing of Kayla Cross and Victoria Mboko in the final.

The 18-year-old returned to her home country yesterday, where she was greeted by throngs of Kenyans gathered to honor their hero for her historic exploits at SW19. Among the high-profile guests who had also turned up to congratulate the Wimbledon champion was Amina Mohamed, the Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Heritage and Culture in the country.

Okutoyi was serenaded by her fans as soon as she exited the airport and was met with a flurry of photographers who had rushed to take pictures of their new national icon.

The 18-year-old, who has a 3-6 record in singles at Grand Slams, also made history at the Australian Open earlier this year, when she became the first Kenyan to win a girls' juniors singles Grand Slam match. Unfortunately, she lost out in the third round. At the 2022 French Open, she progressed as far as the second round, while she exited in the first round at Wimbledon prior to her doubles exploits.

“Serena Williams’ story is inspiring, what she has achieved throughout her career is unbelievable" - Angella Okutoyi

Angella Okutoyi regards Serena Williams as her source of inspiration

As with most up-and-coming players, Angella Okutoyi confessed during a recent interview that she sees the legendary Serena Williams as her idol and that the 23-time Grand Slam champion's story was what inspired her to pick up the sport.

Like the American, the 18-year-old hopes to fight it out on the court and put in the necessary hard work to rise above the difficulties that are bound to prop up along the way.

“Serena Williams’ story is inspiring. What she has achieved throughout her career is unbelievable. Her determination and hard work year-in, year-out is what keeps me going," Angella Okutoyi said.

Recalling the struggles she and her sister Roselida Asumwa have faced so far, Okutoyi remarked that their poor family background made them easy targets for other children growing up. Despite all that, the Wimbledon champion was proud of how they kept their heads down and soldiered on, for which she has reaped the rewards already.

"For a family with no money, we may have looked and sounded crazy. Children would laugh at us, call us names, we became the joke, but we kept our heads down. We did our fighting with actions on track,” Okutoyi said.