Trailing 1-5 in the first set of the USTA New England Junior Tennis Championships sectional round, Olivia Lin could’ve mailed it in. Get the last game over with, settle down and attack a new set.
But that’s not how the 14-year-old operates. Instead, the Lexington resident willed her way back to a tiebreaker, emerging victorious and cruising 6-2 in the second set to advance to the next round.
“I always believed in myself that I could do it,” said Lin, a 5-foot-4 consistent right-hander with a penchant for attacking at the right moment. “I just stayed calm and played my way and eventually it paid off.”
A few days later—on her 14th birthday—the right-hander captured her third straight USTA New England Junior Tennis Championships title, cruising to the Girls’ 16s title without dropping a set over the five-round tournament.
In a town full of tennis success—both of Lexington High School’s teams reached the Division I state championship matches last month—Lin is one of the nation’s top young women’s tennis standouts.
“I like the process of how I win matches and the problem solving of situations in matches,” Lin said. “It’s something I can control. It might sometimes be about my opponent, but it’s mostly how I play and how I do things.”
Babolat Recruiting Lists pegs the recent Clark Middle School graduate as a five-star recruit and No. 26 ranked player in the high school graduating class of 2029 nationwide. She’s No. 1 in Massachusetts and No. 2 in New England for her grade behind Connecticut resident and No. 11 Priscilla Sirichantho, who won the sectional Girls’ 18s title.
Lin won the Girls’ 12s title in 2023 and Girls’ 14s last year. Being two years younger than many of her competitors mattered little during this spring’s sectional tournament.
In the title match, Lin faced defending champion Elana Zaretsky, a Braintree resident who is one year older and a five-star recruit ranked No. 1 in New England and No. 39 in the nation’s high school class of 2028. Lin cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 win.
Born in Boston, Lin, an only child, and her family moved from Allston to Lexington in 2016 ahead of her entering kindergarten. She dabbled in competitive soccer, swimming and dancing before going all-in on tennis (with some recreational golf sprinkled in).
Lin started playing tennis when she was seven with her father, Wei, at the Clark Middle School courts. She entered her first tournament, The Orange Ball in Nashua, New Hampshire, at age nine in the fall of 2020. Most tournaments in the spring of 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Lin returned to the circuit over the summer. She plays tournaments twice a month, expanding from regional tournaments to national ones.
Playing for the Lexington High School team next spring is something Lin’s weighing. She likes the idea of the friendships and team camaraderie, but the schedule limits her availability for tournament travel.
“It would be hard to do both,” Lin said.
A dedicated student, Lin aspires to play Division I tennis and is interested in STEM-related subjects. Playing high-level tennis doesn’t happen without sacrifice. Lin plays six days a week, either with older peers in Lexington or with coaches at Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center in Dorchester, and mixes in off-court fitness workouts. She doesn’t “pay attention” to her birthday “that much” because it usually falls during key tournaments.
The day after winning sectionals, Lin enjoyed a “pretty chill,” delayed birthday celebration. Two small cakes, an oreo cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory and a chocolate, vanilla, brownie and oreo cake from Cold Stone Creamery. After a day off training, Lin went right back to work, training on a Winchester clay court for a tournament this past weekend in Virginia.
“I really love this sport, so it’s something I like to dedicate my time to,” Lin said. “I’ve put in a lot of work and effort, and so far it’s paid off.”
Way to go, Olivia!