Will Thai Kwiatkowski be the future pride for United States Tennis Association?
The game of tennis has come across many great players over the years and new talent is emerging at a very high rate. The level of competition in the sport has increased immensely and the battle for who will be at the top of game has become lethal. Only those who have been playing tennis since their early childhood and have major talent and true passion for the game can make it into the professional world of tennis.
In recent years, men’s tennis has been ruled over by two great players – Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The world is constantly waiting for someone who will come and overthrow these high achievers. Federer had been the best and had ruled alone for at least a decade until he met his match, Nadal. Rafael Nadal was the first player to beat Federer, who was at that time the undisputed champion, and made his way to the top in men’s tennis. Both of these men have been a pride for their respective countries.
Federer has honoured Switzerland by setting many records in the history of tennis. He has won sixteen Grand Slam titles, which is the most titles won by any male tennis player and he has career prize money of $56 million. This has made him the all-time leader in prize money earnings. On the other hand, Nadal has made Spain proud by his exceptional performances and recently he was the champion at Wimbledon 2010. He has a total of eight Grand Slam titles and this young Spaniard is still in the form to win many more.
The question going around is that will the next Federer or Nadal be emerging for America? All fingers are pointing towards the young Thai Kwiatkowski from North Carolina, America. In the search for America’s next great player, this remarkable, 15 year old player has been under the radar of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) for quite some time now.
Young Kwiatkowski has a natural flair for the game and his booming forehand is what makes his performance noteworthy. He has been playing tennis for as long as he can remember and entered his first tournament at the age of five. At the age of eight, he was playing and beating other children who were at least four years older to him and were sometimes even a foot taller than him. The power in his game, at such a young age, was a mystery to many and led many to believe that he will grow up to attain greatness in the sport. He has been developing his game of tennis over the years and is heading towards becoming a pro. It is now time for him to show the world that the predictions made about his greatness as a tennis player in the past, were in fact true.
Kwiatkowski is currently training with Bill Belser, who is one of the finest coaches the USTA has to offer. Kwiatkowski has been practicing with Belser since 2008. He claims to have improved a great deal from when he first started his practice and credits his improvement to his coach, Belser, without whom he would not be where he is today. They have been seen to be working well together and with this progress and development in Kwiatkowski’s game he will surely be able to hit the pro level in no time.
“He does have ambition to play at the pro level,” said Bill Belser. This ambition seen in the talented Kwiatkowski has motivated Belser to work with this junior tennis star to a great extent. At first they had been training in the USTA centre in Boca Raton, Florida, but in last August, they shifted back to Charlotte, North Carolina which is Kwiatkowski’s home town. Training at home has been extremely helpful for the young player and has helped him avoid any kind of extra burden or exertion. Bill Belser has proved to be a blessing for the future career of Thai Kwiatkowski and has made him work through many strenuous situations.
Will this 15 year old junior tennis player make it to the pro level and will he be able to fulfil the hopes and expectations of the USTA? Only time can tell.
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