The hiss of trains echoed through the Gare Du Nord Train Station in Paris, carried on the hot summer breeze of a late July morning. A sculpture of the Olympic rings hung above the heads of travelers buzzing down platforms, silhouetted by light shining through the glass and metal ceiling of the station.
Paris was transformed by the arrival of the Summer Olympic Games – drawing both spectators and athletes from all corners of the world. And at a bustling train station in the North of Paris, I caught up with University of Nevada, Reno alumnus and tennis Olympian, Moez Echargui.
Echargui was a star tennis player for the Wolf Pack from 2011 to 2016, earning multiple awards, and nearly 10 years after graduating he is still tied for the most individual victories in the university’s history.
He says his time at Nevada was formative and inspired him to pursue the sport further.
“It prepared me for what I’m doing today,” Echargui said. “After my first year at Reno, I knew that I wanted to go professionally, and with the help of the coaches and everyone, they kind of pushed me towards the right path.”
That path led him to compete in the African Games, where he claimed gold earlier this year. This feat automatically qualified him for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, where he represented his home country, Tunisia, in men’s singles tennis.
“It’s such a great experience. I’ve never thought that I would be here one day,” Echargui said. “I mean, if they would tell me in my time back in Reno that I will make it to the Olympics, probably I would laugh. I will say ‘no,’ or, you know, I wouldn’t believe it.”
Echargui came to play for Reno as an international student studying computer science and mechanical engineering. He recalled his time at Nevada fondly, and now, even halfway across the world, said his friends, coaches, and even acquaintances from the Wolf Pack were still cheering him on at the Olympics.
“My first year was in 2011, but I still receive messages of encouragement and support from my teachers, from academic advisors, from my coaches back there, so it's really nice getting that support from Reno,” Echargui said.
After he graduated in 2016, it took some time to adjust to the transition between playing tennis as a team sport to going on tour as an individual player.
“When we play on the team, we have all the support of the teammates. We are all there, all together,” Echargui said. “And then you finish college, you graduate, and you can start on the tour, and you find yourself playing by yourself … it’s kinda hard in the beginning, but I feel like you can get used to it.”
His tennis schedule keeps him on the move, playing 25 to 30 weeks, or roughly seven months out of the year, often in many different countries.
During his Olympic match in Paris though, he had some familiar faces in the stands cheering him on. Amongst a sea of waving red and white Tunisian flags, his brother and parents watched him play a match against British hopeful Daniel Evans at Roland Garros stadium on July 28.
And from far beyond the stands, all the way back in Nevada, he also had the Wolf Pack rallying for him as well.
“I think going to the Olympics is a dream for every athlete … and I’m honored to represent my country, and also, I’m honored to represent the Pack at the Olympics,” he said.
In his three set match against Evans, Echargui won one set.
Although the loss brought Echargui’s 2024 Olympics chapter to a close, his tennis career is far from over.
As he stood on the train platform with his athletic gear by his side, Echargui awaited the train that would take him to the next leg of his journey – a challenger tournament in Germany, and then to subsequent tours in Italy, Spain and Portugal.
“It’s sad that my Olympic story got to an end, but I hope it's a beginning of another journey,” Echargui said. “Now I feel like I have another vision after I've played the Olympics: I'm full of energy, and I’m excited for what’s coming next.”
Kat Fulwider is a student at the Reynolds School of Journalism. The story was produced in partnership with the school’s 2024 Paris Olympics Program.
