Miguel Londoño has dreamed of being a tennis player since he was just 5 years old. After watching a tennis game on TV, he turned to his father and decisively declared his desire to play.
His parents, Carlos Londoño and Milet Montoya, who raised Miguel and his two older sisters in Medellín, Columbia, knew attaining lessons would not be an easy task. “That sport is for rich people,” Carlos recalled saying when his son asked. “We can’t afford that.”
Fast forward 11 years, Miguel, now 16, was named the Boys’ 16 Singles Champion at the 2025 American Tennis Association National Championships — a feat that has made Miguel a prime candidate for college recruitment.
The beginning of Miguel’s journey
Miguel spent the first 11 years of his life in Columbia and practiced tennis at public courts. While the courts gave him the opportunity to play, lessons were few and far between, and he only received about one lesson per week. In 2019, Miguel ranked around 118 out of 400 tennis players under the age of 12 in Columbia.
However, Miguel’s coach told him if he wanted to achieve his dreams of playing professionally, he would need to train harder. He started giving Miguel private lessons four times per week, and Miguel rose in ranks from 118 to 12 within his category in the entire country.
In 2021, the family immigrated to Queens after Miguel’s mother, a speech therapist, was offered a job in the borough. The family soon found a home in College Point.
Miguel, who was 12 at the time, said despite the language barrier, the transition was not particularly difficult for him because he made so many friends with similar interests.
“I think tennis is what helped me the most,” Miguel said. “Just, like, finding somewhere to be comfortable. It motivated me to keep coming to practice.”
Miguel joined a free tennis program at P.S. 194 that same summer when Scott Daly, senior director for community affairs at New York Junior Tennis and Learning, noticed him. Daly asked Miguel to join the NYJTL Community Tennis Program. Miguel later attended tryouts for the CTP+ program and earned a full scholarship to train at the Cary Leeds Center, located in the Bronx. He continues to train there Sunday through Thursday.
He also earned a scholarship to the Institute for Champions and Leaders, an online high school that customizes academic curriculum around the lives of students training for careers in sports, television, music and more.
Miguel first began competing in the United States Tennis Association at the end of 2021, which includes only the top 10,000 players in each category. Entering the U14 tournament category, which includes boys under the age of 14, Miguel was initially positioned outside of top national ranks. However, he reached 1,286 nationwide, 106 in the Eastern region and 31 in the Metropolitan district after completing the category in January 2023.
Currently, Miguel competes in the U16 and U18 tournament categories. Among boys 16 and under, he ranks 642 nationwide, 55 in the Eastern region and 18 in the Metropolitan district. Among boys 18 and under, he ranks 1,070 nationwide, 90 in the Eastern region and 24 in the Metropolitan district.
A day in the life of Miguel
An average day for Miguel starts at 6 a.m. when he wakes up, showers and eats breakfast before running out the door to catch a bus at 7 a.m. Miguel takes three buses to commute from his home in Queens to the tennis center in the Bronx. It can take anywhere from an hour-and-a-half to two hours, he said, but he normally arrives around 8:30 a.m.
He warms up by himself for about 30 minutes before stepping on the court for tennis practice from 9 to 11 a.m. When he’s done, he heads to the center’s gym and exercises for an hour.
At 12 p.m., Miguel finally gets a lunch break. He often catches up on schoolwork or unwinds with friends before returning to the court for another training session from 2-4 p.m., followed by another hour of fitness training.
Once he’s done, he begins his nearly two-hour commute back home, boarding another three buses and arriving home for additional studying and schoolwork.
On Thursdays, however, Miguel stays for a third training session from 6-8 p.m. His parents pick him up those days since it’s too late for him to be traveling alone.
When asked how he balances at all, he laughed and said “I ask myself the same question.”
“It’s tough,” Miguel said. “I just try to do as much schoolwork as I can. Whether it’s on the bus, even if it’s just one paragraph I can write, or during weekends or Fridays… Any time I’m free, I just try to squeeze in some schoolwork.”
He said he and his friends often go out for dinner on Friday evenings, although he’s accustomed to having little time to himself. “It’s a lifestyle,” Miguel said. “The fun things are coming to practice and being around friends.”
Miguel said his love for tennis is what keeps him going. “I think whenever I step on the court, that’s the answer,” he said. “It’s just, like, this feeling I get when I play tennis. It’s just a love for the sport.”
How NYJTL supports Miguel and his peers
According to Raiyan Nafee, director of the Scholar Athlete Program at NYJTL, the tennis program is intended to create well-rounded students who excel in academics and athletics. The program currently has 100 students in grades 2-12, and hosts a variety of activities beyond tennis training such as life skills workshops, career exploration, field trips and volunteer opportunities.
The ultimate goal of the program, Nafee said, is for students to secure merit-based scholarships to colleges for either tennis or academics. The program offers tutoring for SHSATs, which are SAT exams for students in specialized high schools.
Nafee has worked with Miguel since he became director of the program three years ago, and he said colleges are already looking to recruit the teen tennis star. He added that Miguel is an “interesting” case since he attends school online, which he said Miguel intentionally chose to do so he could focus more on his tennis skills.
“Miguel is an example of ‘When you want it, you’ll work for it,’ right?” Nafee said, noting how much Miguel has grown since he first started the program. “He’s super talented. He’s a super driven kid. He’ll make the commute to practice and he’ll never complain about it… He really embodies what you want a scholar athlete to be.”
Miguel said all the coaches at Cary Leeds, along with his friends, have been supportive of his goals. While they often joke around and laugh together, he said when it’s time to get back on the court, they keep each other focused.
“You do have fun, and you do joke around a little bit, but there’s also discipline,” Miguel said. “They keep me accountable, I keep them accountable. We push each other. We get the best out of each other.”
Miguel said he views Cary Leeds not as a second home, but his first home, noting that he spends more time at the center than his own house. His friends and coaches are like family to him, he said, and they work as a community to learn and grow together.
Reflecting on the journey
Miguel said his father has always been his biggest supporter. “I think my dad believes in me more than I do,” he said. Anytime Miguel has a tournament, or questions whether he can achieve something, he said his father is always there telling Miguel he can do it.
Carlos said he is beyond proud of his son, and anything Miguel has achieved has been through hard work and dedication.
“Since the beginning, Miguel wanted many things,” Carlos said. “Miguel has an angel, because in all that time, the things that he dreamed became real.”
Carlos said all he wants is for Miguel to do the things that make him happy in life, and whatever path his son chooses is what he will support.
He said over the years, he’s watched his son become more mature, responsible and confident in his sports performance. While it’s tough for Carlos to watch his son have little time to himself as he balances schoolwork and training, he said Miguel’s efforts have paid off.
“That’s the point,” he said. “I can only try with my wife to create a good person — a person that helps others and contributes to the world and a better future. Miguel makes me cry because he has a lot of beautiful things in his life. All the things he dreamed when he was a kid, for maybe 10 years, are now a reality.”
While Miguel said he’s always dreamed of being a professional tennis player, that’s not what the experience has been about for him.
“I’ve come to understand that it’s more about the journey than the final goal,” Miguel said. “I think the things I’ve learned along the way are way more important than the final goal. And even if I don’t achieve it, I’m still pleased with whatever I’ve done.”
