Thai-Son Kwiatkowski

Last updated

Thai-Son Kwiatkowski
Kwiatkowski WMQ22 (1).jpg
Kwiatkowski at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships
Country (sports)Flag of the United States.svg United States
Residence Charlottesville, Virginia
Born (1995-02-13) February 13, 1995 (age 29)
Charlotte, North Carolina
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Turned pro2017
Retired1 September 2024
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
College University of Virginia
Prize money $ 538,880
Singles
Career record0–7 (Grand Slam, ATP Tour level, and Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 181 (February 3, 2020)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open Q1 (2020, 2021)
French Open Q2 (2021)
Wimbledon Q1 (2021, 2022)
US Open 1R (2017, 2020)
Doubles
Career record0–3
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 232 (July 29, 2019)
Grand Slam doubles results
US Open 1R (2019)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
US Open 2R (2024)
Last updated on: 1 September 2024.

Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (born February 13, 1995) is a Vietnamese American former tennis player. He played collegiately for the Virginia Cavaliers. On 29 May 2017, Kwiatkowski won the NCAA Men's Singles Championship. [1] [2]

Contents

College career

Coming out of high school, he was the nation's top recruit. [3] Kwiatkowski was on three national championship teams during his time at Virginia. As a sophomore, he tied the school's single season wins record, going 44-8 during the season. On September 11, 2016, Kwiatkowski won the American Collegiate Invitational, which earned him a wild card into the qualifying tournament for the 2017 US Open. [4] After his senior season, he was named first-team all-ACC. [5] Kwiatkowski won the singles title at the 2017 NCAA Men's Singles Championship, defeating William Blumberg in the final. [6]

Other notable college achievements: [7]

Professional career

Kwiatkowski in 2018 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski.jpg
Kwiatkowski in 2018

After winning the NCAA singles championship, Kwiatkowski was awarded a wildcard into the main draw of the 2017 US Open. [1] He faced the 23rd seed Mischa Zverev in the first round, losing in five sets. [8] [9]

He won his maiden Challenger title in Newport Beach in 2020. [10] He was also awarded a wildcard into the main draw of the 2020 US Open, [11] where he lost in the first round to Kwon Soon-woo in four sets.

In August 2024, he announced his retirement after playing his last singles match at the 2024 Winston-Salem Open. [12] [13]

Personal life

Thai-Son's parents are Wendi Le and Tim Kwiatkowski. He has a younger brother named Liem. His parents are both University of Virginia alumni. Kwiatkowski is of Vietnamese and Polish descent. [14] Kwiatkowski majored in commerce. [3]

On 23 February 2021, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski successfully obtained Vietnamese citizenship in order to play for Vietnam's national tennis team in upcoming tournaments. [15] He immediately became the most accomplished tennis player to represent Vietnam after he obtained the citizenship and planned to represent the country in international competition. [16] He is playing for Hung Thinh – Ho Chi Minh City team since October 2019. [17]

Thai-Son is not the first foreign-born tennis player to be recruited by a Vietnamese domestic tennis team. Daniel Nguyen a Vietnamese American tennis player is playing for the Hai Dang - Tay Ninh team and obtained Vietnamese citizenship in 2019. [18] [19]

Kwiatkowski was first coached by world renowned tennis coach and chief tinkerer Dwayne “Duey” Evans. Evans found Kwiato under a tree reading a book and said to himself, “wow this kid has potential.” Within five years, Evans had Kwiato beating members of the Nigerian Davis cup team, who Evans also coached in Charlotte, NC. Evans believed that Kwiatkowski was the third most talented ball striker he has ever hit with, behind Arthur Ashe and James Blake.

Coach Evans proven leadership methods stem directly from NBA legend and Hall of Fame member Bill Russel. Help others get what they want: "As leaders, we'd be wise to remember that if we help enough people get what they want in the short term, we're far more likely to get what we want. -Bill Russel https://www.on3.com/news/bill-russell-quotes-to-inspire-you-from-a-basketball-icon/

Evans has said his proudest moments in life are winning the Charlotte adult 3.5 Usta Open, raising 3 beautiful daughters, and helping Kwiatkowski win the national championship for UVA/ playing on the ATP tour. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dueyevans

ATP Challenger and Futures/ITF World Tennis Tour finals

Singles: 9 (8 titles, 1 runner-up)

Legend (singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (1–0)
Futures/ITF World Tennis Tour (7–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (7–1)
Clay (1–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Dec 2016Puerto Rico F1, Mayagüez FuturesHard Flag of the United States.svg Alexios Halebian 6–1, 6–4
Win2–0Oct 2017USA F33, Houston FuturesHard Flag of the United States.svg Sebastian Korda 6–2, 6–2
Win3–0May 2018Singapore F1, Singapore FuturesHard Flag of Japan.svg Soichiro Moritani6–2, 6–2
Win4–0Jun 2018Canada F3, Calgary FuturesHard Flag of the United States.svg Paul Oosterbaan 6–4, 6–3
Win5–0 Feb 2020 Newport Beach, USAChallengerHard Flag of Colombia.svg Daniel Elahi Galán 6–4, 6–1
Win6–0Apr 2023M15 Sunrise, USAWorld Tennis TourClay Flag of the United States.svg Tristan McCormick6–4, 7–6(7–5)
Loss6–1Oct 2023M15 Las Vegas, USAWorld Tennis TourHard Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bernard Tomic 1–6, 6–4, 2–6
Win7–1Mar 2024M25 Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicWorld Tennis TourHard Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Nick Hardt 6–4, 6–4
Win8–1Mar 2024M25 Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicWorld Tennis TourHard Flag of Ecuador.svg Andrés Andrade 6–4, 7–6(7–3)

Doubles: 14 (5 titles, 9 runner-ups)

Legend (doubles)
ATP Challenger Tour (1–4)
Futures/ITF World Tennis Tour (4–5)
Finals by surface
Hard (5–6)
Clay (0–3)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Jun 2016USA F17, Charlottesville FuturesHard Flag of the United States.svg Mac Styslinger Flag of Australia (converted).svg Greg Jones
Flag of New Zealand.svg José Statham 		6–4, 6–1
Win2–0Jun 2016USA F18, Winston-Salem FuturesHard Flag of the United States.svg Jared Hiltzik Flag of the United States.svg Austin Smith
Flag of the United States.svg Dennis Uspensky		6–4, 6–2
Loss2–1Aug 2016Finland F1, Kaarina FuturesClay Flag of New Zealand.svg José Statham Flag of Finland.svg Herkko Pöllänen
Flag of Denmark.svg Mikael Torpegaard 		7–6(7–4), 3–6, [6–10]
Loss2–2Dec 2016Puerto Rico F1, Mayagüez FuturesHard Flag of the United States.svg Quinton Vega Flag of Serbia.svg Nebojša Perić
Flag of Serbia.svg Ilija Vučić		1–6, 3–6
Win3–2Mar 2017France F5, Toulouse FuturesHard (i) Flag of France.svg Fabien Reboul Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Niels Desein
Flag of France.svg Yannick Jankovits 		6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Loss3–3Jun 2017USA F20, Rochester FuturesClay Flag of the United States.svg Luca Corinteli Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Hugo Di Feo
Flag of Denmark.svg Mikael Torpegaard		6–7(5–7), 4–6
Loss3–4Oct 2017USA F33, Houston FuturesHard Flag of the United States.svg Austin Krajicek Flag of the United States.svg Aron Hiltzik
Flag of the United States.svg Dennis Nevolo		6–7(3–7), 3–6
Loss3–5Dec 2017Mexico F7, Metepec FuturesHard Flag of the United States.svg John Paul Fruttero Flag of Ecuador.svg Gonzalo Escobar
Flag of Mexico.svg Manuel Sánchez 		3–6, 3–6
Win4–5Jul 2018Canada F4, Kelowna FuturesHard Flag of Ireland.svg Julian Bradley Flag of the United States.svg Charlie Emhardt
Flag of the United States.svg Samuel Shropshire		7–6(7–5), 7–5
Loss4–6 Apr 2019 Tallahassee, USAChallengerClay Flag of the United States.svg Noah Rubin Flag of Venezuela.svg Roberto Maytín
Flag of Brazil.svg Fernando Romboli 		2–6, 6–4, [7–10]
Loss4–7 Jul 2019 Winnetka, USAChallengerHard Flag of the United States.svg Christopher Eubanks Flag of the United States.svg JC Aragone
Flag of the United States.svg Bradley Klahn 		5–7, 4–6
Win5–7 Mar 2020 Indian Wells, USAChallengerHard Flag of the United States.svg Denis Kudla Flag of the United States.svg Sebastian Korda
Flag of the United States.svg Mitchell Krueger 		6–3, 2–6, [10–6]
Loss5–8 Oct 2023 Charlottesville, USAChallengerHard (i) Flag of the United States.svg Denis Kudla Flag of Australia (converted).svg John-Patrick Smith
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Sem Verbeek 		6–3, 3–6, [5–10]
Loss5–9 Jan 2024 Indian Wells, USAChallengerHard Flag of the United States.svg Alex Lawson Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Seggerman
Flag of the United States.svg Patrik Trhac 		2–6, 6–7(3–7)

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References

  1. 1 2 Leung, Brian J. (May 29, 2017). "NCAA CHAMPION! Thai-Son Kwiatkowski wins the NCAA Singles Title!". streakingthelawn.com. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  2. ↑ "DI men's tennis championship: Virginia's Thai-Son Kwiatkowski wins NCAA men's singles title". NCAA.com. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "UVA bio". virginiasports.com. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Kwiatkowski and Collins Win American Collegiate Invitational Singles Titles". longislandtennismagazine.com. September 11, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  5. ↑ Karnik, Danny. "2017 MEN'S TENNIS ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM ANNOUNCED". theACC.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  6. ↑ Ratcliffe, Jerry (May 29, 2017). "Virginia's Kwiatkowski captures NCAA singles title". dailyprogress.com. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Thai-Son Kwiatkowski". April 28, 2020.
  8. ↑ "The Latest: No. 23 seed Zverev prevails over NCAA champ". washingtonpost.com. August 28, 2017. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Asian-American Spotlight: Thai-Son Kwiatkowski". May 8, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Kwiatkowski Captures Maiden Title in Newport Beach | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  11. ↑ "THCMC tennis player gets US Open wild card". vnexpress.net. August 29, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  12. ↑ @JTweetsTennis (August 18, 2024). "Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, the 2017 NCAA singles champion at Virginia, announces his retirement from tennis on Instagram. The 29yo reached ATP #181. Kwiatkowski, a North Carolina native, fittingly played his final match today at the Winston-Salem Open" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ↑ @UVAMensTennis (August 19, 2024). "Join us in wishing Thai Kwiatkowski all the best. He announced his retirement on Sunday (Aug. 18) at the Winston-Salem Open #GoHoos" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ↑ Ratcliffe, Jerry (May 29, 2017). "Ratcliffe: Kwiatkowski overcomes his demons, goes out as a champion". The Daily Progress . Charlottesville, Virginia. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  15. ↑ American tennis Thai-Son Kwiatkowski player acquires Vietnamese citizenship
  16. ↑ "Thai-Son Kwiatkowski becomes the most accomplished Vietnam player with citizenship". February 23, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Tennis : Double nationalité pour Thai Son-Kwiatkowski | Culture-Sports | Vietnam+ (VietnamPlus)". March 22, 2021.
  18. ↑ Vietnamese HCMC team signs high ranked Vietnamese American tennis player
  19. ↑ Daniel Nguyen obtains Vietnamese citizenship
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