Tennis, pumpkin bread and…Andy Murray?

One day in October, a group of local players experienced just that. Homa Tavangar (far right) and a group of tennis friends had gotten together for a day of tennis, and planned on celebrating their birthdays afterward as a group.

They had just finished playing at Springton Tennis Club and were sitting down as a group when the club manager walked over to them and asked something unexpected.

“He said, ‘Hey, did you guys see Andy Murray here?’”

They all paused.

“Wait, the Andy Murray?”

Tavangar grabbed her phone and the group ran out the door, and there he was. The three-time Grand Slam Champion and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist was in the parking lot, about to leave a hitting session.

The group had a chance to chat with Murray for a few minutes, take a picture and even snag some video before heading back inside. About 15 minutes later, he strolled back in and asked them if they wanted to hit. When there were no courts available, he hung around for a few minutes longer, talking with the group and getting to know them.

“He was so gracious,” Tavangar said. “We chatted for a bit and had a great time.”

They even sent him back home with some pumpkin bread, which he said he had never tried.

Tavangar, a frequent USTA League Tennis player and avid professional tennis fan, was clearly excited.

An accomplished author and blogger, she detailed the experience in a post on her Instagram account, which eventually drew the attention of The Telegraph, a British newspaper with a circulation of nearly half a million viewers.

It turns out that Murray had been spending time in the Philadelphia area throughout the summer and fall, where he was rehabbing his hip and working with a local specialist.

He was spotted several other times in October, especially at Gulph Mills Tennis Club (Julian Krinsky School of Tennis), where he frequently played and interacted with junior and adult players.

Photos and video of Murray with fans emerged frequently on Facebook and Instagram during that time, with feedback that he frequently went out of his way to hit with kids and give some tennis advice.

“It was very kind of him to spend time with us like that,” Tavangar said.

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Additional Photos of Andy Murray’s Visit