Cape Town – An encounter between a young boy looking for food and a passionate tennis coach led to Siyabonga Jaca, 14, being placed number two in the country in his respective age group.
In 2016, former coach Emmanuel Ngema met Siyabonga at the stadium gate of Westridge Tennis Centre in Durban, where the rising tennis star was spotted and said he was hungry.
Ngema gave him something to eat and took him onto the court for a lesson, where his raw talent was noticed.
A few months later, he played in numerous tournaments and made the KwaZulu-Natal team.
In 2020, Siyabonga was given a scholarship to attend the Anthony Harris Tennis Academy in Bantry Bay and has since represented the country on four occasions already.
Siyabonga along with his South African teammates Connor Doig and John Bothma will now be vying for top spot on the podium at the International Tennis Federation(ITF) World Junior Tennis Finals in Czech Republic next month.
They are among 32 teams,16 boys and 16 girls from 26 nations, who will take part in the 14-and-under age category competition.
His role model and Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios, nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal are just a few of the names to have competed at this tournament.
Siyabonga said: “My team qualified by winning the ITF/ Confederation of African Tennis(CAT) regional event in Zimbabwe against the Southern African Nations. We then competed in the African Junior Team competition in Egypt in July. We won the Under-14 event which qualified us to compete in the ITF World Junior Tennis Finals.
“I am hoping to gain experience competing against the top U14 players from the rest of the World and to see my level compared to them. My goals are to reach top 50 in the world as a junior and in the Association of Tennis Professionals,” he added.
Ngema said: “I truly believe that he is growing up with respect and wisdom that comes with hardship and huge challenges. He has great mentors in his life and a loving mother, father and two siblings.”