In January 2002, a devastating economic crisis in Argentina led to political and social turmoil, forcing many families to flee the country.

Juan Cruz “JC” Aragone, today a 27-year-old professional tennis player, was directly impacted by these events.

“My family decided to move from Argentina to the United States roughly when I was 8 years old,” Aragone says. “It was an extremely difficult transition so I kind of turned to tennis as this escape. And I just immediately fell in love with it.”

Growing up in Tustin, Calif. Aragone’s relationship with tennis quickly blossomed, and did his results on the court.

By age 16, he proved himself to be one of the better junior players in the nation, reaching the semifinals of both the Easter Bowl and Kalamazoo in 2011.

But soon after while training at USTA Player Development in Boca Raton, Fla., Aragone started coming down with flu-like symptoms. He tried to push through it, but the fever increased; soon after, his body broke out in hives. By this point, Aragone could not even stand to get out of bed.