The boy who went from a city square to national tennis championships

Tomás Laguna was 6 when picked up a tennis racket for the first time. It wasn’t at a club or an academy but through a free program at a public square in Yerba Buena, Tucumán. “We wanted him to start playing a sport. We saw an advertisement and decided to give it a try. Tomás loved tennis from the moment he held a racket in his hands,” said his mother, María Eugenia. Two years later, that first experience has become much more than a recreational activity. Tomás, now 8, competed in the Under-10 National Championship of the Argentine Junior Circuit, the country’s most prestigious tournament for his age group. The program that introduced him to the sport is called Tennis in the Squares (Tenis en las Plazas). It was created through a partnership between the Argentine Tennis Association (AAT), the International Tennis Federation (ITF), and municipalities across the country. Its concept was simple but ambitious: bring nets, rackets, and coaches into public spaces to attract children who might otherwise never have access to organized tennis. Tomás was one of them. And Daniela Ruiz, one of the program’s coaches, spotted his potential from the beginning. “We organized recreational games, rallies, and some points. Right away, we noticed that Tomás had something special. He was doing things differently,” she recalls. Shortly afterward, Ruiz and her team recommended that he join a more structured training program at Club Atlético Tucumán, where he received a scholarship. An upward trajectory A few weeks ago, Tomás reached the singles final and won the doubles title at the Under-10 Open in San Miguel de Tucumán. Earlier in the season, he had reached the singles semifinals at the Santiago del Estero Regional Championship and also captured the doubles title there. Those results earned him a place in the country’s premier tournament for his category. For his family, tennis quickly became more than just an extracurricular activity. “Now he practices every day and also goes to school. He’s in third grade,” his mother said. Beyond his personal story, Tomás’s journey also highlights the impact that grassroots sports programs can have when they are sustained over time. “Many of these kids had never even touched a racket before,” said Augusto Arquez, president of the Tucumán Tennis Association and Yerba Buena municipality sports director. “Tomás came on the very first day and then returned every Saturday. There was a group of 12 or 13 kids who followed us everywhere,” he adds. Tennis in the Squares is part of Comunidad AAT, an initiative designed to expand tennis participation throughout Argentina. The project is led by Florencia Molinero, a former professional player and member of Argentina’s Billie Jean King Cup team. AAT Technical Department Director Valeria Mac Loughlin asserted that tennis can serve as an educational and social tool as well as a sporting one. “Talent first needs doors that provide access to the sport, and then bridges that allow that potential to develop along the pathway,” she says. This is especially evident in stories like Tomás’s, whose journey began far from any traditional tennis academy. From a public square to a coach and tournaments to eventually ending in a national championship. At eight years old, it is still far too early to predict a professional future for Tomás. But in a sport where access is often shaped by resources, circumstances, and opportunities, his emergence already is proof that talent can be found in the most unexpected places.