Massachusetts Tennis Standout Beats Odds to Win Bronze at 2026 Maccabiah Games

While tennis was a casual family activity in her youth, it became the physician’s passion when she started a family of her own. Drawn to tennis as a lifelong sport, Pearl’s competitive spirit quickly took over as she joined USTA leagues and club play. She quickly climbed the ranks at the Longfellow Tennis Club in Natick, where she won five women’s singles championships from 2014-2019.

“Tennis brought me back,” Pearl said. “I loved the strategy. I loved the fitness of it all. I loved it, and I thought, ‘Oh, I need to do more. I need to see what I got and bring it to a higher level.’”

Pearl applied to compete in the 2021 Games. However, before she could take to the court in Israel, one wrong step put her dreams on pause.

While playing in a singles match in February of 2021, she sustained a severe knee injury, ending her hot streak in competitive play. A large piece of cartilage had broken off from her knee, leaving a “pothole” in the joint. An at-home ultrasound revealed she would need surgery to repair the damage, shattering her hope to compete in the Games that year. 

After two surgeries, various attempts at physical therapy and consultations with multiple orthopedic surgeons, Pearl’s injury was barely improving.

Over a four-year span, Pearl worked with seven different physical therapists. The dream of competing in Israel kept her going through an extended trial-and-error period in her treatment.

“The Games had been my goal for so long,” Pearl said. “They gave me the motivation to get up before work, to go to the gym, to do my strength and ladder work. Sometimes at night in the driveway doing my interval work in the dark, I just thought, ‘I’ve got to get to these games.’ It helped me be better.”

By 2024, Pearl had returned to tennis, initially sticking to doubles play to protect her knee from unnecessary strain. When the 2025 games were pushed to 2026 due to regional conflict, she capitalized on the extra recovery time. 

“I was not fully recovered, and I really could not have played singles in 2025,” Pearl said. “2026 was my year.”

Pearl earned her official roster spot in the Master’s division at the Team USA tryouts to qualify for the Games hosted by Maccabi USA. Returning to singles with local flex rounds in the spring and lessons at the USTA national campus, she prepared for July when she would represent her country in Israel.

Throughout competition, Pearl dominated her round robin groups, winning all six of her matches and earning a spot in the playoffs. After dropping the semifinal, she found herself in the coveted bronze medal match. She dropped the first set and went down 1-5 in the second, when something changed. 

“I just thought, ‘I’ve been through so much, I’ve come so far, I’m not giving up,’” Pearl said. 

With the same grit and determination that propelled her through years of recovery, Pearl fought her way back and took the set 7-5. In a third-set tiebreaker that brought the match to nearly four hours of play, Pearl secured a 10-7 victory and the bronze medal for Team USA.

“It was thrilling,” Pearl said. “I had to work for every little bit, but it was extremely meaningful to me. I felt like God was with me, giving me the strength to keep going through it all.”

After bringing home the bronze, Pearl returned to her medical practice and to a more casual tennis scene. She uses what she learned at the Games and during her recovery to help treat her patients, especially those dealing with knee injuries.

“She’s the kind of woman a lot of people can learn from,” Poulos-Gopen said. “Don’t give up on things and don’t give up on yourself."