Ahoya targets J30 and J60 junior tournaments after ANOCA Youth Games gold

Fresh from winning gold at the ANOCA Youth Games, Seline Ahoya will turn her attention to the J30 and J60 junior tournaments set for Nairobi Club in October and November.

This is as she steps up preparations for next year’s international competitions. Ahoya will be joined in the girls’ category by Nancy Kawira, while Mark Murage, Edward Mwakio and Jyan Patel will represent Kenya in the boys’ events.

Coach Peter Wachira said Kenya had high hopes of Ahoya representing the country at the 2026 Youth Olympics in Dakar, Senegal, but tennis will not feature at the global event

. “Unfortunately, she will not be going. The host nation had not factored tennis as part of its plans for the tournament, so we will instead focus on the two tournaments in October and November,” said Wachira.

Ahoya claimed the girls’ singles gold at the ANOCA Youth Games at Kenyatta University after beating Uganda’s Lilian Ayee 6-3, 6-2 in the final. Kawira completed a Kenyan sweep of the podium places after defeating compatriot Jenerica Thuku 6-1, 6-2 in the bronze-medal match.

In the boys’ category, Murage settled for silver after losing 6-1, 6-1 to Uganda’s top seed Samuel Okello. Wachira said the J30 and J60 tournaments would provide valuable preparation for the 2027 Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup campaigns.

“It will be good preparation for the four players to get these tournaments and play some of the top players from the continent and Europe. This will sharpen them and expose them to competitive matches,” he said.

Wachira said Tennis Kenya would develop a more detailed training programme for the two national teams ahead of next year’s competitions. “I believe before the end of the year, the federation will come up with a robust training schedule for our players for the two big tournaments in the new year,” he said.

The coach said the emergence of young players was encouraging for the future of Kenyan tennis, but stressed the need for greater international exposure. “It is very encouraging. We are on the right path, and what we need to do to aid their development is give them exposure to high-quality tournaments,” said Wachira.

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