Boyd on winning streak at South African Masters

Capetonian Jacqui Boyd continued her unbeaten record in South African national tennis tournaments by winning the 2025 South African Masters Tennis Nationals earlier this month.

Boyd, a Herzlia alumnus, won each of her five matches by straight sets in the Women’s National 45+ category held in Strand, in the Western Cape, from 1 to 5 March.

“It felt great to win, especially coming off an injury,” says Boyd, who turned 46 on 9 March. “I fell over during the holidays in December, so I was off for two months. It was touch and go if I was even able to play. I decided to enter at the last minute, so I was chuffed to win and to have kind of pulled through. I only had about a week’s worth of training.”

Her body held up well at the tournament. “I felt good. Each day, I kind of got stronger. By the final day, I actually felt pretty good physically and mentally.”

The players were from all around the country. “There are the senior tournaments throughout the year, but the big one is the nationals held once a year. It happened to be hosted here in the Western Cape this year, so that kind of worked out nicely.” The nationals are open to all tennis players in South Africa.

Now in her 10th or so year of playing senior tennis, Boyd remains unbeaten in “all the masters’ and national tournaments that I’ve played in South Africa. I’ve actually never lost a match to date. I mean I don’t play every tournament but when I do, I’ve managed to win all my matches, so I’ve got a pretty healthy record.”

Although she has just returned to training, Boyd says playing well in Strand and winning all her matches quite easily came down to “body and muscle memory” as she hadn’t played a tournament in a while.

Boyd, chief marketing officer for Hungry Lion, the fast-food chicken restaurant, is now building up towards this year’s Maccabi Games in Israel in July and has a few other tournaments before then in her sights.

Boyd is the holder of nine Maccabiah medals, including seven golds, having first competed at the games in 1993 as a 14-year-old.

She took up tennis around the age of five. Her brother, two years her senior, started going for tennis lessons. “I remember just going along and starting to play,” she recalls. “I think coaches saw quite a bit of talent, and I just started playing more and more, loving the sport. I started winning under-age tournaments, getting better and better as I went along, but my love for the sport has always been there.”

After matriculating in 1996, Boyd went to the United States on a tennis scholarship. “I studied and played tennis at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, for four years straight after matric.

“I’ve always had a love for tennis. People try and take me to play padel or other sports and I take breaks every now and then, but I still absolutely love tennis. I must have had a bit of talent, and I’ve worked hard over the years. As you get older, it’s crucial to keep yourself fit and healthy. How well you recover is important.”

Highlights of Boyd’s career include her debut for South Africa at the age of 15, going to the African National Championships when she was 16, and playing overseas. “I’ve played many tournaments overseas, national championships, and world championships for South Africa, even now in seniors, but I still think the highlights have been all my Maccabiah over the years.

“There’s something about the Maccabiah because it brings all of us Jews together. The friendships that I’ve made over the years, you know, nothing could beat that.”

Balancing tennis with working full-time isn’t easy, but she has been quite good at it, going to the gym early in the morning and playing tennis after work.

She will ramp up her tennis over the next few months ahead of the Maccabiah, playing about four times a week, going to the gym, and running three times a week.