By Kyle Kondor
Lily Muir may be too bashful to admit she’s one of the best young tennis players in New Jersey, but her No. 8 ranking speaks for itself.
The Pond Road School 7th grader finds it difficult talk about her successes—or even to talk to strangers. But Muir’s results on the court have proven she has earned her ranking near the top of the United States Tennis Association rankings in the Middle States New Jersey district’s 12 and younger age group. The entire state, except for a 35-mile radius around New York City, belongs to the New Jersey district.
“She’s very even keel and she’s critical of herself when she loses,” her mother, Jill Muir said. “Sometimes she says, ‘I’m not that good.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah you are. You’re pretty good.’”
This summer, Muir began competing in USTA events, shooting up into the Top 10 after just seven tournaments. In the last year, Muir also has won 32 matches, losing just 16, in Junior Team Tennis play. The matches were a mix of singles and doubles, some co-ed.
Muir has accomplished this through her own will. She doesn’t come from a family of tennis players, and Jill is the only one who ever played tennis at all before Lily began swinging a racket.
Muir’s journey started when Robert and Jill Muir adopted Lily from an orphanage in Vietnam when she was three-months-old. The Muirs and their three children—Tyler (now 22), Austin (21) and Morgan (20)—welcomed Lily into their Robbinsville home, across the street from the community’s tennis courts.
Eventually, Muir took notice of the courts, and wanted to try the sport out. And she hasn’t stopped using them.
“When she was a little girl she kept bugging me to play so I finally said, ‘OK, we’ll try tennis,’” Jill Muir said. “A couple summers later she was outplaying all of the kids her age.”
Now 12, Lily began playing at 6, in Robbinsville’s recreational tennis league. Along the way, she dropped all other sports—she used to play soccer and softball—and now plays tennis four to five days a week year-round. She doesn’t mind the commitment.
“I just think that it’s a really fun sport to play, and it’s a good way to keep active,” Lilly Muir said.
For the past two years she has taken semi-private invitational training sessions with tennis pro Jody Dement at the Mercer County Tennis Center. These sessions take place each Wednesday during the fall and only consist of up to five top tennis players in Mercer County.
For the most part, she trains privately with former Robbinsville High School girls’ tennis coach Devin Crawbuck, who has coached Muir since she began playing in the recreational league. Crawbuck primarily hosts group workouts for boys and girls RHS tennis players that Muir will sometimes join in on.
“She probably has one of the best top spin forehands I’ve seen at that age,” Crawbuck said. “She’s going to be a standout for the high school team in two years.”
Crawbuck, who was ranked as the state’s top tennis player in her age group as a teenager, says that she notices drive in Muir that she had at that age.
“I see girls playing and stop playing when the weather gets cold,” Crawbuck said. “They pick up the racket maybe two months before the season. Lily doesn’t do that and that’s what I find makes her a true athlete.”
And once in-season, Muir doesn’t ease up. On July 15, Muir and her team, the Net Nuts entered the USTA New Jersey district championship for fun. They ended up winning and advancing on to the Middle State sectionals Aug. 1 at Mercer County Park.
The week of the sectionals, Muir was participating at the Nike Tennis Camp at Lawrenceville Prep. She cut her week at camp short to play with her team, and the Net Nuts finished third of five teams.
The tournament was the culmination of a whirlwind three months on the USTA circuit for Muir. She started in May after hearing about some tournaments her friends were playing in. Jill Muir OKed it, despite being hesitant of USTA’s yearround—and occasionally intense—nature.
“I didn’t want to burn her out at a young age so originally I had no intentions of getting her in USTA,” Jill Muir said.
But Muir adapted fine, earning her Top 10 ranking by racking up 230 points via the seven USTA tournaments. Typically, 20 points are earned for each tournament win until reaching the semi-finals, in which 40 points can be earned with a win. 50 points are usually rewarded to the tournament champion. The tournaments range from four to 32 participants.
Muir won the Wilson Fourth of July Open in Toms River, and she’s finished runner-up in two tournaments, including the Nassau Summer Classic in Skillman on July 19. There, she defeated the district’s fourth ranked player, Alessandra Armour of Columbus, in the semifinals.
Armour is the highest ranked player that Lily has faced thus far, and Muir recalls that match as her best memory since she started playing tennis.
“It was a really good match and I thought it was the best I’ve ever played,” she said.
Muir will continue to participate in Mercer Couty’s JTT leagues, as well as in the USTA circuit. She said she eagerly awaits her opportunity to play for Robbinsville High School in two years. In the meantime, Muir hopes to convince some younger Robbinsville residents to start playing tennis and join her at RHS. Right now, Muir is the only Robbinsville native that can be found on the USTA Girl’s 12 and under NJ District rankings.
Crawbuck said at least one Mercer County high school coach doesn’t mind waiting, though.
“My mom coaches at West Windsor South, and they know Lily,” Crawbuck said. “They know that Robbinsville is going to be tough to beat with Lily at No. 1.”
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