Born in Japan, the 27-year-old has lived in the U.S. since childhood and has made LA her home.
Title rivals Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz reached the Wimbledon third round on Wednesday as Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka was demolished on her return to Centre Court after a five-year absence.
Osaka returned to the tour this year after 15 months of maternity leave for her daughter who turns one on Tuesday.
Swiatek wrapped up victory after nearly three hours.
"It feels really nice to be back and I'm just really grateful to be here in front of everybody," said Osaka.
Naomi Osaka and Carlos Alcaraz bring the curtain up on the French Open on Sunday as Roland Garros prepares to bid a likely farewell to Rafael Nadal.
Naomi Osaka said she had taken a leaf out of Novak Djokovic's tactical playbook and tweaked her return game at the Qatar Open after the former women's world number one earned back-to-back wins for the first time in almost two years.
A single break proved enough for the French 16th seed to win the opening set against her rusty opponent and she dominated the second set tie-break to progress in Melbourne.
Fourth seed Gauff said ahead of the opening Grand Slam of the year at Melbourne Park that she wanted to win "multiple" major titles after her breakthrough at Flushing Meadows.
Showstopper Nick Kyrgios and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu were notable absentees Thursday from the 2024 Australian Open entry list, but Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka are set for their Grand Slam comebacks.
Two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka became the latest star to pull out of the opening Grand Slam of the year Sunday, leaving the tournament deprived of some of the biggest names in the game.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka retired from her opening match on Tuesday at the WTA Toronto Masters with lower back pain, raising injury concerns with the US Open looming.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka made a triumphant return from a two-month layoff by defeating Chinese teen Zheng Qinwen on Tuesday at the WTA San Jose hardcourt tournament.
Former world number one Naomi Osaka's coach Wim Fissette said on Wednesday that the pair had ended their partnership after working together since 2019.
Naomi Osaka was knocked out of the French Open in the first round on Monday, 12 months after controversially quitting the tournament.
