Kenya’s Seline Ahoya and Uganda’s Samuel Okello will lead a thrilling finale at the ANOCA Zone 5 Youth Games tennis competition after securing places in the girls’ and boys’ finals respectively at Kenyatta University on Wednesday.
Ahoya, a student at Lavington Girls Secondary School, maintained her unbeaten run to set up an all-Kenyan girls’ final against compatriot Nancy Kawira on Thursday, while Okello, 15, from City High School in Uganda, booked a boys’ final date with Kenya’s Mark Murage.
Ahoya saw off compatriot Jenerica Thuku 6-2, 6-2 before completing her round-robin campaign with another victory over Tanzanian Hadija Msangi.
The 17-year-old Ahoya, who is playing only her second tournament of the year after a three-month break, said she was delighted with her progress.
“My match was average because I was a little bit scared at first. There reached a point where I did not know what to do, but I just kept the balls in so that my opponent would not see my weakness,” noted Ahoya.
“I am happy with the way the tournament is going for me because I have won all my matches so far and I am so proud of myself. It is my prayer that I keep winning until the final. My target in this tournament is to be number one. I want to work smart and not hard to achieve my goal.”
Ahoya described her victory over Msangi as an easy match that secured her place in the final.
Kawira from Mbagathi Girls High School, former school of USA-based Kenyan tennis star Cynthia Wanjala, earned her final berth after a spirited comeback against Michelle Murage.
Murage led 4-2 in the opening set, but a series of errors, including a double fault, allowed Kawira to level at 4-4. Kawira moved 5-4 ahead after Murage hit wide before another wide shot and three consecutive service errors handed her the set.
Kawira later wrapped up the round-robin phase with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Lilian Ayee of Uganda.
“I am so happy with the way I played Murage today. At one point I was 4-2 down, but I changed my attitude and energy, started pumping myself up and putting the balls in,” noted Kawira.
In the boys’ semi-finals, Okello thrashed Kenya’s Jyan Patel 6-3, 6-1, while Murage stunned Mwakio 7-5, 3-6, 10-5 to set up an all-East African final.
Earlier, Okello outsmarted Kenya’s Dohn Kelly Ochieng 6-2, 6-2, although he admitted he was below his best.
“I did not play very well like in my last two matches. I am not happy with the result, but my target remains to win this tournament. I will win it,” declared Okello.
Mwakio, 18, from Highway Secondary School in Nairobi, had earlier overwhelmed Somalia’s Asad Ibrahim 6-0, 6-0.
“I did everything I wrote down and it worked. I am happy with the way the tournament is going for me,” said Mwakio, whose target was to finish either first or second.
Ochieng, 17, from Rabondo High School in Migori County, explained that lack of coaching was hindering his development. A self-taught player who started playing tennis in Form Two in 2023, he uses YouTube to learn from other players and admires Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz.
“Tennis needs coaching. You cannot train well when you are just using your phone. You need advice to know how to become better,” he said, adding that while most players have four or five racquets, he has only one belonging to his school.
Somalia coach Abdulkar Omar Ghedi noted that the tournament had offered valuable exposure to his players despite the country’s shortage of facilities.
“We don't have many tennis courts. We have one or two playable courts only. We have many players, about 20 to 50, but not enough courts,” explained Ghedi.
He noted that Somalia has only one tennis court in Mogadishu, with the country also having a cement court available for use.
Somalia’s Asad Ibrahim and Abdallah Salah both suffered 6-0, 6-0 defeats against Kenya’s Mwakio and Tanzania’s Damiano Rungu, respectively.
Kenyatta University tennis co-ordinator Robert Asano attributed the institution’s ability to host the 11-nation competition to its infrastructure.
“We have good space for athletes, tents where they can sleep, conference rooms where they can have meetings and our playing fields are in good condition,” noted Asano.
He added that the university has a strong tennis programme, with its players among the leading university performers through the Kenya Universities Sports Association (KUSA) League.
The girls’ and boys’ finals will be played on Thursday.
