HCMC tennis player gets US Open wild card

With many of the world’s top-tier players not participating in this year’s tournament because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Kwiatkowski has got a wild card to play after winning the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger singles title in February and the doubles title at the Indian Wells Challenger in March. He is ranked 185 in the latest ATP world rankings.

Kwiatkowski will play South Korea's Soon Woo Kwon (ranked 71) in his first round match. If he wins, he will face the winner of the match between Canadian Denis Shapovalov (12th seed) and American Sebastian Korda (225th).

Some of the sport's biggest names who can't attend this year tournaments include Spain's Rafael Nadal (ranked second) and Switzerland's Roger Federer (ranked fourth).

The 2020 U.S. Open will be held from August 31 to September 13. The $53.4 million total prize pool this year is down from last year's $57 million. The male and female singles champions will receive $3 million each and the runners up will get $1.5 million.

Kwiatkowski, who has applied for Vietnamese citizenship, signed with the Hung Thinh - Ho Chi Minh City team last October. He also participated in the U.S. Open 2019, but lost in the first round.