Thibaut Alain Tignée is a freshman here on the tennis team at Greenville University. Tignée was born and raised in Theux, Belgium. Tignée attended Saint-Roch Theux High School, where he was multi-sport athlete. Tignée played both basketball and tennis for his high school, and excelled prolifically in both sports. He had many successes during his four years of playing sports at Saint-Roch Theux high school including winning the Belgian Championship for basketball in 2018. Even though he won the championship in basketball, Tignée knew that his real passion was tennis. During his senior year of high school, Tignée started to receive emails and phone calls from several colleges in Belgium as well as the U.S who were interested in his talent. While searching for a good school to attend in Belgium, his phone rang out of nowhere and it happened to be Coach Brannon from the Greenville’s Men Tennis Team. One of the reasons for coming to Greenville was exclaimed by Tignée; “Coach Brannon contacted me to come play tennis, and I saw it was a great opportunity to learn and experience American culture.” Tignée said, “I love the atmosphere around Greenville and the people are so nice. It really feels like I’m home, that’s just how comfortable I am here.”
When Tignée chose to attend Greenville, The Greenville Panthers Men’s Tennis Team gained an outstanding player with an immense amount of knowledge for the game. Tignée knew this was the right place for him once he met the team and they welcomed him with open arms as well as joked around with him like they’ve known each other for years. With Tignée’s long legs accompanied by the control he has of his racket, he can make the ball go anywhere he wants. Tignée said, “I’ve put in a lot of long nights and early mornings into this sport and finally I feel like it’s paying off.” Tignée’s talent and skill make him a tough competitor to beat. Even when some of his opponents think they have him on the ropes, he gets a second wind and always seems to make a come back and gain an advantage over them. Tignée is a magician with his tennis racket, he can make something out of nothing and with his power and speed he can make the ball disappear and then somehow reappear before it goes out of bounds. Tignée is a real leader and will do whatever it takes to make him and his team successful. Tignée is one of the top players on the Greenville University Panthers Men Tennis team as a freshman. When asked about his aspirations for this seasons he says; “I’m looking forward lots of wins and good times with the team. I feel like this is the year for us to go all the way”. Tignée hopes his team can stay on the right track and remain healthy so they can get a chance at the championship since last year the tennis team didn’t have a season because of Covid-19. As for his academic experience at Greenville, Tignée said, “I chose Physics because I have a big interest in science and I’ve always like physics a lot in particular.”
Media by Isiah Dortch.
