No. 4 Texas men’s tennis this season has practically been untouchable.
Redshirt freshman No. 7 Timo Legout has claimed a 22-2 singles record, giving him the 6th most wins in the country. Legout is just one of two players in the country who has at least 20 wins and only two losses, the other player being defending national champion No. 1 Michael Zheng from Columbia. Legout is also one of four players who is currently ranked in the top 10 in both singles and doubles.
Before he was a two-time Southeastern Conference Men’s Tennis Freshman of the Week award winner and the recipient of the SEC Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week award, Legout grew up watching his parents compete in a different sport.
“My parents both played really high level table tennis, so I started with tennis and table tennis when I was three or four (years old) and I just loved it,” Legout said. “I tried a couple sports, like soccer and basketball, but I just stuck with tennis.”
Legout’s father, Christophe, was a three-time Olympian who is considered one of the greatest French table tennis players in the sport. Christophe Legout continues to be an inspiration for Legout when it comes to his matches.
“When we talk, he doesn’t talk to me too much about tennis, it’s more about the mental part of the game,” Legout said.
Legout’s journey to Texas looked a little different than the typical college athlete. After rising to No. 12 in the International Tennis Federation World Junior Rankings, Legout took a chance competing professionally overseas, but things didn’t go as planned.
“I was struggling a little bit on tour, I was injured … I plateaued around 400-500 (world ranking) and then I thought I needed something different,” Legout said. “I decided to take some visits to colleges and I visited here and I loved it.”
It took just one visit for Legout to know that he was destined to be a Longhorn.
“It’s everything you can ask for as an athlete,” Legout said. “You have every resource possible. The coaches we have, the facility, just everything. It’s just the perfect fit to be a college athlete and then a professional athlete.”
Legout began his Longhorn tenure on the sidelines. He elected to redshirt, allowing him to practice with the team, connect with his teammates and learn the sport of collegiate tennis, all while not losing a year of eligibility.
“Starting from his first visit, he interacted with the guys super easily and very comfortably,” head coach Bruce Berque said. “They have a lot of respect for him as a player and his work ethic … Last year, in many ways, he was like an extra coach, really supportive of his teammates.”
Legout uses his professional experience to help the younger members on the team, but continues to learn from his teammates..
“I try to be an inspiration for the young guys on the team,” Legout said. “I try to be a hard worker and an example for them so they can look up to me a little bit in that way. But I also try to learn from the other guys on the team that have played more college tennis than me, so I try to find the right balance between those two.”
As the chase for the SEC Championship ramps up, Berque appreciates how valuable it is to have a player like Legout on your team.
“Every team has a best player but not every team has a best player that can go out on the court and win consistently,” Berque said. “He’s not gonna win every match but you can count on them from winning a lot more than not and it’s a big lift to our team to push everyone else down a spot.”
