Iga Swiatek to play in her first major of the year at the U.S. Open

Iga Swiatek reaches first US Open final, will face fifth seed Ons Jabeur

Iga Swiatek will reach her first major of the year when she is matched up against sixth seeded Ons Jabeur at the U.S. Open.

Swiatek plays her first official match since having to sit out after playing last week with an inflamed right knee. She underwent an MRI on her injured knee two days before the tournament began Thursday.

Swiatek was trying to get ready for a match at the German in Aug. and was set to play Friday morning. Her mother and father came to St. Louis to watch her play at the Louis Armstrong Center.

The 17-year-old Swiatek, who won the U.S. Junior Open in 2012, earned her spot in the U.S. Open girls’ draw by reaching the second round at the Rogers Cup.

Swiatek was the top seed from the U.S. team that finished in eighth place at the London Olympics in the team event.

“She worked extremely hard to get into those tournaments and this is her first big tournament that she’s playing in,” said Swiatek’s coach, Tim Stahl. “She worked as hard as anyone to make it and she deserves to be here.”

Swiatek, the youngest of six children, has turned down a scholarship at Stanford, which has several athletes but would have paid a $1,000-a-year premium to allow her to play tennis year round.

“I wanted to tell the Stanford administrators that what I’m doing is what I want to do,” Swiatek said. “My parents have sacrificed a lot to let me do what I love.”

Swiatek, playing in her fifth U.S. Open, will play her first match against fifth seed Ons Jabeur, who is ranked 12th.

Jabeur reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in January, where she lost to Li Na 6-4, 6-2.

A second seed, she is the first Swiss-born woman to reach a Grand Slam

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