Transformative Tennis: Tolu Adeleye Makes a Global Impact

It was nearly 20 years ago when Tolu Adeleye moved to Minnesota and found himself at a bar in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis. It was that night he met Justin Jennings — a tennis coach who also happened to have moved to the city that same day. What started as a conversation that night turned into a friendship and eventually a vision based on a shared passion: how can we make a difference in the world?

This common passion, along with a shared interest in tennis, is what eventually led them to form AJ Tennis Academy International in 2015 — a non-profit organization that combines tennis with education to teach underprivileged children in our communities and in developing countries how to make a positive impact on the world.

“Tennis is a global sport, even though it’s exclusive, it’s played all over the world and everyone connects there,” Adeleye said. “I've been anywhere as far north as Estonia or as far south as South Africa and everywhere in between, talking to tennis authorities wherever I can and asking, how do we make this world of tennis more connected?”

Early Beginnings 

Tolu was born in Washington, D.C., but spent a portion of his childhood going to school in Nigeria. Later moving back to the United States and attending college here, it was a job that brought him to Minneapolis — where his passion for tennis began. 

His first apartment building in the Twin Cities happened to have tennis courts, and although he had never played, he decided to give the sport a try. He’d spend hours a day watching YouTube videos, learning with a ball machine and teaching himself the game. 

​Tolu, an avid traveler who has visited over 150 countries, was staying in Cambodia when the idea for AJ Tennis Academy International was sparked after having dinner with a group of local children.

“I thought ‘oh a tennis academy,’” he said. “Wouldn't it be great to bring all these smart kids, teach them tennis, teach them some life skills and some education philosophy, business, economics, politics — and then let them go forth and become agents of change in the community.”

He shared his idea with Justin, and the rest was history. 

The first AJ Tennis Academy International event was hosted in Nigeria with around 500 participants. Since then the organization's impact has only grown, and over the last decade, has served 10,000+ children across Africa, South America and North America. The organization not only aims to introduce kids to tennis and help them hone their skills, but to also instill within them what the organization calls the 3Cs:

-Curiosity for the world

-Concern for the world

-Confidence to effect change in the world

Leaving a Legacy

A decade in, Tolu and AJ Tennis Academy International are just getting started. Tolu says the goal is to keep reaching more children, and to establish tennis academies across the Global South, where young athletes can have access to continuous, structured training and mentorship.

And while co-founder Justin Jennings sadly passed away in 2020, his legacy remains deeply woven into the organization’s mission. In honor of Justin and his beloved Newfoundland dog, Kiwi, the Academy’s sister company, AJ Athletic, features a logo inspired by Kiwi on its apparel.

And though AJ Tennis Academy International’s reach is global, its roots stay planted in Minneapolis. Tolu has been a longtime customer of Michael Lynne’s Tennis Shop, first discovering the store more than a decade ago.

“The service of the people there — just the warmth and then of course a personal relationship with Michael and with Mimzy who have been incredibly encouraging,” Adeleye said. “They’ve seen the evolution right? They’ve heard me talk about the academy and they’ve heard me go do something about the academy.” 

​Ultimately, whether in Minneapolis, Nigeria, Colombia or wherever the work takes them, Tolu and AJ Tennis Academy International’s mission remains the same: to build a better world through tennis.

“I want to connect people around the world together,” Adeleye said. “And I think the more we can understand that the world is smaller and that the lines between us are so think I think that would help hopefully create some level of empathy and find ways to continue to see others as ourselves.”

To learn more about AJ Tennis Academy International visit ajtennisacademy.com