Asian-American Spotlight: Thai-Son Kwiatkowski

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this May, USTA.com is celebrating up-and-coming Asian-American players who are looking to make their mark in tennis.

Here's a look at former University of Virginia star Thai-Son Kwiatkowski.

• Kwiatkowski graduated from the University of Virginia in 2017, where he won the NCAA singles title as a senior and led the Cavaliers to three straight NCAA team titles, from 2015-17. He was a three-time singles All-American at UVA, as well as a back-to-back ACC Men's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year honoree, and he finished his career ranked fourth in program history in total wins (136).
• In January, the 23-year-old native of Charlotte, N.C., was honored as one of the NCAA's Top 10 Recipients, which recognizes former student-athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
• Kwiatkowski, who trains at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., made his ATP World Tour debut at Newport in 2017. He received a wild card to compete in the 2017 US Open for winning the NCAA singles title and, in his Grand Slam debut, nearly upset No. 23 seed Mischa Zverev in a five-set thriller, 7-6, 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. A year before in New York, he won the American Collegiate Invitational at the 2016 US Open, a tournament for esteemed college players.
• Kwiatkowski has won five pro titles to date in his career – two in singles and three in doubles. In singles, he captured titles at an ITF Circuit event in Puerto Rico in 2016 and a $25,000 USTA Futures tournament in Houston in 2017. In doubles, he claimed back-to-back $25,000 USTA Futures titles in Charlottesville, Va., and Winston-Salem, N.C., in 2016, for the first two pro titles of his career, and he picked up his third championship at the ITF Circuit event in Toulouse, France, in 2016.
• As a junior, Kwiatkowski ranked as high as No. 13 in the world. He competed in all four junior Grand Slam tournaments in singles and doubles, reaching the doubles quarterfinals at the 2012 junior US Open and French Open.