Former NCAA champ Thai-Son Kwiatkowski announces retirement weeks after jokingly 'crying' over 'quit' message to low-ranked character in 'Challengers'

American international Thai-Son Kwiatkowski has announced his retirement from tennis after eight years on the professional circuit. His decision came just weeks after he joked about a scene from the tennis-centric movie 'Challengers' dissing a lower-ranked player's career prospects.

Kwiatkowski played his last tournament at the 2024 Winston-Salem Open. The World No. 299 was seeded second in the qualifying draw and defeated Skander Mansouri in his opening match. His bid for a main draw appearance ended in the second qualifying round against compatriot Strong Kirchheimer.

After his campaign in Winston Salem, Kwiatkowski announced on Instagram that he was retiring from the sport. The North Carolina native posted pictures from his time at the ATP 250 tournament and paid homage to tennis.

"Absolutely nothing left. Thank you tennis. 🙏🏼🎾," Kwiatkowski captioned the post.

Thai-Son Kwiatkowski enjoyed a stellar collegiate career, representing the Virginia Cavaliers of the University of Virginia. The 29-year-old led the Cavaliers to the NCAA Division Men's Team Championship in 2017 and won the NCAA Men's Singles Championship the same year by defeating William Blumberg in the final. He failed to replicate his collegiate success on the ATP Tour, with his career-high ranking being World No. 181 (achieved in 2020).

Kwiatkowski's retirement announcement came just weeks after he tweeted about the Zendaya-starrer tennis-centric movie, 'Challengers.' On June 20, the American mentioned a scene in which Zendaya's character urges a 31-year-old player to quit tennis due to their low ranking.

Given his own low ranking on the ATP Tour, Kwiatkowski found humor in the scene and joked about changing his career.

"*me enjoying my evening, watching ‘challengers’ finally* Tashi duncan: 'Quit right now. Right the f*** now, quit. You are 271st best in the f***ing world. You’re 31. You have a better shot with a handgun in your mouth.' *me, 29, 289 in the world, crying, opening up LinkedIn*," he wrote on X.

Thai-Son Kwiatkowski won his biggest title at Newport Beach Challenger 2020

Thai-Son Kwiatkowski

Thai-Son Kwiatkowski will end his tennis career with one Challenger-level title in his trophy cabinet. The American emerged victorious at the Newport Beach Challenger in February 2020 after impressive wins over several seeded players. Kwiatkowski defeated the likes of Denis Istomin, Steve Johnson, and Daniel Elahi Galan to win his lone title on the Challenger circuit.

Apart from Newport Beach, the American won several titles on the Futures tour and ITF's Men's World Tennis Tour. In 2024, he picked up two M25 level titles in Santro Domingo, Dominican Republic. Kwiatkowski also has one doubles title on the Challenger tour.

At the Grand Slam level, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski has limited experience. As the 2017 NCAA singles champion, he was awarded a wildcard into the main draw of the 2017 US Open but lost in the first round. He was also given the main draw wildcard at the 2020 US Open and endured another first-round exit. Kwiatkowski's last appearance on the ATP Tour came at the 2023 Winston-Salem Open as a qualifier.