American tennis player acquires Vietnamese citizenship

With the support of Hung Thinh Tennis Club in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and Vietnam Tennis Federation, Kwiatkowski was able to become a Vietnamese citizen. The 26-year-old reached the 181st position on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Rankings, after winning the prestigious ATP Challenger Tour at Newport Beach in the United States beating many strong players in the world’s top 100 and 200.

He also played in three Grand Slam tournaments, including Australian Open, Roland Garros and U.S. Open.

Kwiatkowski has a Vietnamese mother and Polish father, and was born in the U.S. He played collegiately for Virginia Cavaliers. His breakthrough came from the victory at NCAA Men’s Singles Championship, which earned him a spot at the U.S. Open.

Kwiatkowski had expressed his desire to play for Vietnam earlier. He also joined Hung Thinh at some domestic competitions in 2019, dominating them all.

With the addition of Kwiatkowski, Vietnamese tennis is confident of a men's gold medal at SEA Games 31, which will take place in Vietnam this year. He is also expected to help the nation compete in the second group of the Davis Cup next year.

At present, Kwiatkowski is competing in the ATP 250 tournament in Singapore, where he has made it past qualifiers after two victories. His next opponent is South Korean Woo Soon-Kwon, ranked 81st by ATP. Kwiatkowski is currently in 219th spot and beating a much higher ranked player would help him improve his placing.

After ATP 250, he is set to return to Vietnam and play for Hung Thinh at the national tennis championship this year.