Learner Tien

Last updated

Learner Tien
Learner Tien (2024 US Open) 04.jpg
Tien at the 2024 US Open
Country (sports)Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Residence Irvine, California, U.S.
Born (2005-12-02) December 2, 2005 (age 19)
Irvine, California, U.S.
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro2023
PlaysLeft-handed (two-handed backhand) [1]
College University of Southern California [2]
CoachEric Diaz
Prize moneyUS $729,484
Singles
Career record9–8 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 114 (November 11, 2024)
Current rankingNo. 121 (January 13, 2025) [1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open 4R (2025)
US Open 1R (2022, 2023, 2024)
Doubles
Career record1–1 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 732 (January 6, 2025)
Current rankingNo. 733 (January 13, 2025) [1]
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
US Open 1R (2024)
Last updated on: January 20, 2025.

Learner Tien (born December 2, 2005) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 114 achieved on November 11, 2024. He also has a career-high doubles ranking of No. 732 achieved on January 6, 2025.

Contents

Early life

Tien was born in Irvine, California to Vietnamese parents Khuong Dan Tien and Huyen Tien. His first name, Learner, is inspired by his mother's profession — a math teacher. [3] His sister is named Justice after his father's profession — an attorney.

Tien started playing tennis when he was just a toddler, and won his first tournament at the Racquet Club of Irvine at the age of 5. [4]

Junior career

Tien had a successful career as a junior, compiling a 76–23 win-loss record and reaching two junior Grand Slam finals, at the 2023 Australian Open [5] and the 2023 US Open, culminating with a combined ITF ranking of world No. 4. In doubles compiling a 36–18 win-loss record and winning the 2023 Australian Open, partnering Cooper Williams. [5]

Junior Grand Slam singles results

Australian Open: F (2023)
French Open: SF (2023)
Wimbledon: QF (2022, 2023)
US Open: F (2023)

Junior Grand Slam doubles results

Australian Open: W (2023)
French Open: QF (2023)
Wimbledon: 2R (2022)
US Open: 2R (2022)

Professional career

2022–2023: Junior National champion, Grand Slam debut

At just 16 years old, Tien won the 2022 USTA Boys 18s National Championship, which earned him a wildcard into the main draw of the 2022 US Open. This made him the youngest player to compete in the men’s singles main draw at the US Open since a then-16-year-old Donald Young (also the champion at Kalamazoo) played in the 2005 US Open, and also the first player aged 16 to compete since Zachary Svajda in 2019. [6] He lost in four sets to 32nd seed Miomir Kecmanović.

In August 2023, he received a wildcard into the 2023 US Open but lost to Frances Tiafoe in the first round. [7]

2024: First Challenger titles & ATP quarterfinal, top 125

In July, Tien also received a wildcard for the 2024 Cranbrook Tennis Classic in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan where he lifted his maiden Challenger title. He became the youngest American Challenger champion since 2016, when an 18-year-old Frances Tiafoe won in Granby, Canada. [8] [9] He also won the M25 in Lakewood, California, increasing his winning streak to 25. [10] [11] At the end of July, a week later, he again made the quarterfinals at the 2024 Chicago Men's Challenger and reached the top 250 in the rankings on 29 July 2024. He reached his second Challenger semifinal of the season, defeating eight seed Hong Seong-chan. [12] He lost to Yunchaokete Bu, ending a 28-match winning streak across ITF and ATP Challenger tournaments. A week later, he also made the quarterfinals at the 2024 Lexington Challenger but lost to Hugo Grenier. [13]

He secured a main draw wildcard for the US Open by winning the US Open wildcard challenge. [14] [15] [16] Ranked No. 231, Tien qualified for the main draw at the 2024 Winston-Salem Open. There he defeated fellow qualifier Tristan Schoolkate and upset ninth seed Fábián Marozsán [17] and Thiago Seyboth Wild to record his first three ATP Tour wins and reach his first ATP quarterfinal. He became the youngest American ATP tour-level quarterfinalist since Brandon Nakashima in 2020 (in Delray Beach). As a result he climbed 40 positions in the singles rankings to world No. 191 on 26 August 2024. [18]

He won his second Challenger title in Las Vegas, defeating Tristan Boyer, and moved up another 40 positions in the singles rankings to a new career-high of No. 151 on 16 September 2024. [19] He reached the top 125 in the rankings at world No. 124 on 14 October 2024, [20] following another title at the Fairfield Challenger after playing a 39-minute final, the shortest championship match in Challenger history, against Bernard Tomic. He became the fourth American to win three ATP Challenger Tour titles before his 19th birthday after Taylor Fritz, Andy Roddick and Sam Querrey. [21] [22] As a result on 26 November 2024, at 18 years old, Tien qualified for the 2024 Next Generation ATP Finals. [23] [24]

2025: Australian Open debut & fourth round, top 5 win, top 100

Ranked No. 121, Tien made his Australian Open debut after qualifying into the main draw. [25] He defeated Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the first round for his maiden Grand Slam win. [26] Next, he upset fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, for his first top 10 and top 5 win, after winning the 10-point tiebreaker in the fifth set, in a 4 hours and 50 minutes match that ended at 3 am in Melbourne. At 19 years old he became the youngest American player to reach the third round of the tournament in 35 years, since Pete Sampras in 1990. [27] [28] [29] Tien defeated Corentin Moutet in straight sets to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career and moved into the top 100 in the singles rankings. With the win, he became the second-youngest American man to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open in the Open Era (after Sampras), and the youngest player since Rafael Nadal in 2005. [30] His run ended with a loss to Lorenzo Sonego, in 4 sets.

Singles performance timeline

Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#DNQANH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Current through the 2025 Australian Open.

Tournament 2022 2023 2024 2025 SRW–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open AAA 4R 0 / 13–1
French Open AAA0 / 00–0
Wimbledon AAA0 / 00–0
US Open 1R 1R 1R 0 / 30–3
Win–loss0–10–10–13–10 / 43–4
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Open A Q1 A0 / 00–0
Miami Open A Q1 A0 / 00–0
Win–loss0–00–00–00–00 / 00–0
Career statistics
Tournaments11226
Overall win–loss0–10–16–43–29–8
Year-end ranking860452122

ATP Next Generation finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Result   Date   TournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss Dec 2024 Next Generation ATP Finals, Saudi ArabiaHard (i) Flag of Brazil.svg João Fonseca 4–2, 3–4(8–10), 0–4, 2–4

ATP Challenger and ITF World Tennis Tour finals

Singles: 12 (10 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (3–1)
ITF WTT (7–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (10–2)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0 Jul 2024 Cranbrook Tennis Classic, USAChallengerHard Flag of the United States.svg Nishesh Basavareddy 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win2–0 Sep 2024 Las Vegas Challenger, USAChallengerHard Flag of the United States.svg Tristan Boyer 7–5, 1–6, 6–3
Win3–0 Oct 2024 Fairfield Challenger, USAChallengerHard Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bernard Tomic 6–0, 6–1
Loss3–1 Nov 2024 Knoxville Challenger, USAChallengerHard (i) Flag of the United States.svg Christopher Eubanks 5–7, 6–7(9–11)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss0–1Oct 2022M15 Fayetteville, USAWTTHard Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Toby Samuel 3–6, 3–6
Win1–1Jun 2023M15 Irvine, USAWTTHard Flag of the United States.svg Quinn Vandecasteele7–5, 6–2
Win2–1Oct 2023M15 Norman, USAWTTHard (i) Flag of Portugal.svg Duarte Vale 7–6(8–6), 6–2
Win3–1Nov 2023M25 Columbus, USAWTTHard (i) Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jacob Fearnley 2–0 ret.
Win4–1May 2024M15 San Diego, USAWTTHard Flag of Brazil.svg Karue Sell6–7(6–8), 6–2, 6–2
Win5–1Jun 2024M15 San Diego, USAWTTHard Flag of the United States.svg Alafia Ayeni6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–4
Win6–1Jun 2024M15 Rancho Santa Fe, USAWTTHard Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Matthew Summers6–3, 6–1
Win7–1Jul 2024M15 Lakewood, USAWTTHard Flag of the United States.svg Govind Nanda 6–3, 6–3

Doubles: 4 (4 titles)

Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (0–0)
ITF WTT (4–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (4–0)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Nov 2022M15 East Lansing, USAWTTHard (i) Flag of the United States.svg Alex Michelsen Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Joshua Goodger
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Emile Hudd
6–4, 6–3
Win2–0Jun 2023M15 Irvine, USAWTTHard Flag of the United States.svg Bryce Nakashima Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Joshua Goodger
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Matthew Summers
6–4, 6–2
Win3–0Nov 2023M25 Austin, USAWTTHard Flag of Australia (converted).svg Edward Winter Flag of the United States.svg Sebastian Gorzny
Flag of the United States.svg Brayden Michna
4–6, 6–3, [10–2]
Win4–0May 2024M15 San Diego, USAWTTHard Flag of the United States.svg Sebastian Gorzny Flag of France.svg Robin Catry
Flag of the United States.svg Braden Shick
1–6, 6–3, [10–1]

Junior Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

ResultYearTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss 2023 Australian Open Hard Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Alexander Blockx 1–6, 6–2, 6–7(9–11)
Loss 2023 US Open Hard Flag of Brazil.svg João Fonseca 6–4, 4–6, 3–6

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win 2023 Australian Open Hard Flag of the United States.svg Cooper Williams Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Alexander Blockx
Flag of Brazil.svg João Fonseca
6–4, 6–4

Wins over top-10 players

Season2025Total
Wins11
#PlayerRkEventSurfaceRdScoreRkRef
2025
1.Flag placeholder.svg Daniil Medvedev 5 Australian Open, AustraliaHard2R6–3, 7–6(7–4), 6–7(8–10), 1–6, 7–6(10–7)121 [32]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoshihito Nishioka</span> Japanese tennis player (born 1995)

Yoshihito Nishioka is a Japanese professional tennis player. He has won three ATP Tour singles titles and achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 24 on 19 June 2023. He is currently the No. 1 Japanese player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reilly Opelka</span> American tennis player (born 1997)

Reilly Opelka is an American professional tennis player. At 6 feet 11 inches (2.11 m), he is tied for the tallest-ever ATP-ranked player, and can produce serves that measure over 140 miles per hour (225 km/h). He has been ranked as high as world No. 17 in singles by the ATP, which he achieved on February 28, 2022, and in doubles as world No. 89 on August 2, 2021. He has won four ATP singles titles and one doubles title. He won the junior Wimbledon championship in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniil Medvedev</span> Russian tennis player (born 1996)

Daniil Sergeyevich Medvedev is a Russian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has won 20 ATP Tour singles titles, including the 2021 US Open and 2020 ATP Finals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex de Minaur</span> Australian tennis player (born 1999)

Alex de Minaur is an Australian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 6 on 15 July 2024 and a doubles ranking of No. 58 on 12 October 2020. He has won nine ATP Tour singles titles and one title in doubles, and has reached five major quarterfinals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alejandro Davidovich Fokina</span> Spanish tennis player (born 1999)

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 21 achieved on 21 August 2023 and a doubles ranking of No. 196 achieved on 21 February 2022. He is currently the No. 5 Spanish player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominik Koepfer</span> German tennis player (born 1994)

Dominik Koepfer, also spelled Köpfer, is a German professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 49 on 4 March 2024, and a doubles ranking of No. 69 on 24 June 2024. He played college tennis at Tulane University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sebastian Korda</span> Czech-American tennis player (born 2000)

Sebastian Korda is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 15 achieved on August 12, 2024 and a doubles ranking of No. 57 reached on May 6, 2024. He has won two ATP singles titles and one doubles title. He also won the junior title at the 2018 Australian Open, 20 years after his father Petr Korda won the Australian Open title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ugo Humbert</span> French tennis player (born 1998)

Ugo Humbert is a French professional tennis player. He has achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 13 on 15 April 2024. He also has a career-high ATP doubles ranking of No. 348 achieved on 26 August 2024. Humbert has won six ATP Tour singles titles, and was runner-up at a Masters 1000 event at the 2024 Paris Masters. He also holds nine Challenger singles titles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maxime Cressy</span> American tennis player

Maxime Cressy is a French-American professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 31 by the ATP, achieved on 8 August 2022. He has been ranked as high as world No. 64 in doubles, achieved on 8 May 2023. Cressy has won one title on the ATP Tour and four singles titles and two doubles titles on the ATP Challenger Tour. Before 2018, he played for his country of birth, France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomáš Macháč</span> Czech tennis player (born 2000)

Tomáš Macháč is a Czech professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 25 on 14 October 2024 and doubles ranking of No. 46 on 30 September 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shang Juncheng</span> Chinese tennis player (born 2005)

Shang Juncheng is a Chinese professional tennis player. He reached his career-high singles ranking of world No. 47 on 21 October 2024. He is the current No. 2 Chinese and the second youngest player in the Top 100. In July 2021, he reached No. 1 in the ITF junior rankings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamad Medjedovic</span> Serbian tennis player (born 2003)

Hamad Medjedovic is a Serbian professional tennis player. On 13 January 2025, Medjedovic reached his career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 98.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jakub Menšík</span> Czech tennis player (born 2005)

Jakub Menšík is a Czech professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 48 achieved on 28 October 2024 and a doubles ranking of No. 389 achieved on 6 January 2025. He is currently the No. 3 Czech and the youngest player in the top 50.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matteo Arnaldi</span> Italian tennis player (born 2001)

Matteo Arnaldi is an Italian professional tennis player. He has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 30, achieved on 12 August 2024, and a career high doubles ranking of world No. 286, achieved on 8 August 2022. He is currently the No. 3 Italian. Representing Italy, he was part of the Italian squad winning the 2023 Davis Cup and won the Gold Medal at the 2022 Mediterranean Games in men singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriel Debru</span> French tennis player (born 2005)

Gabriel Debru is a French tennis player. He has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 247 achieved on 11 November 2024 and a doubles ranking of No. 273 achieved on 4 November 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Michelsen</span> American tennis player (born 2004)

Alex T. Michelsen is an American professional tennis player. He has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 41 and a doubles ranking of No. 93, achieved in November 2024. He is currently the third youngest player ranked in the world's top 50.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nishesh Basavareddy</span> American tennis player (born 2005)

Nishesh Basavareddy is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 107 achieved on January 13, 2025, and a doubles ranking of No. 676 achieved on November 25, 2024.

Alexander Blockx is a Belgian tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 203 achieved on 16 December 2024. He also reached a career-high junior ranking of No. 1 in singles and doubles on 1 May 2023 after winning the 2023 Australian Open in the boys singles and reaching the final in the boys doubles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">João Fonseca (tennis)</span> Brazilian tennis player (born 2006)

João Fonseca is a Brazilian professional tennis player. He has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 112 achieved on 13 January 2025 and a doubles ranking of No. 431 achieved on 26 February 2024. He is currently the No. 3 player from Brazil.

Jannik Sinner is the defending champion.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Learner Tien". ATP Tour . Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  2. "Learner Tien - Men's Tennis - USC Athletics".
  3. "Irvine teenager Learner Tien finds positives after loss at U.S. Open tennis tournament". The Orange County Register . August 30, 2022.
  4. "Elliott: Learner Tien's rise has tennis world noticing Southern California left-hander". Los Angeles Times. July 16, 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Alexander Blockx, Alina Korneeva win Australian Open junior titles". ESPN. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  6. "New Kalamazoo Champ Learner Tien To Join Elite Group of 16-Year-Olds To Play The U.S. Open". World Tennis Magazine. August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  7. "Five Things To Know About Learner Tien". August 27, 2023.
  8. "Tien Wins Cranbrook Tennis Classic, Earns Maiden Challenger Title". July 8, 2024.
  9. "Challenger Q2: #NextGenATP teens Schwaerzler, Debru shine". ATPTour. July 17, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  10. "LEARNER TIEN WINS FIFTH STRAIGHT PRO TITLE AS MATCH WINNING STREAK EXTENDS TO 25 AT FINAL SOCAL PRO SERIES EVENT". USTA SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. July 14, 2024.
  11. "No second guessing, just learning: Tien's recipe for Challenger success". July 19, 2024.
  12. "My Wimbledon 14U Recap; Tien Rolls on at Chicago Challenger; All-USA Semifinals in Dallas and Champaign; House Settlement Tennis Roster Limits Set; 2025 NCAA Individual Championships Slated for USTA National Campus". July 26, 2024.
  13. "Tennis. Lexington (CH) - Hugo Grenier est tombé face au jeune brésilien Fionseca" (in French). August 1, 2024.
  14. @Tennis_Now (August 12, 2024). "Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien have clinched wild cards into the @usopen" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  15. "Learner Tien's tennis win streak earned a U.S. Open wildcard – now just one win will do". The New York Times. August 26, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  16. "Inside Learner Tien's mindset: 'I just kept plugging away'". ATPTour. August 26, 2024. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  17. "#NextGenATP Tien continues dream ATP debut, ousts Marozsan in Winston-Salem". August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  18. "Michelsen, Tien fly #NextGenATP flag in Winston-Salem". August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  19. @damiankust (September 15, 2024). "Learner Tien wins his 2nd Challenger title, beating Tristan Boyer 7-5 1-6 6-3 in Las Vegas. The 18yo is 44-7 across all levels this season. Boyer had his chances with a 5-3 lead in the 1st, but you gotta redline to beat Tien with such an all-out attack style and he got impatient" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  20. "ATP Rankings Report – As of Oct. 14, 2024". October 13, 2024.
  21. "Tien topples Tomic at Fairfield Challenger, joins Fritz & Roddick in American history". ATPTour. October 14, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  22. "My Influences: Tien trusting the process & bouncing off Michelsen". NextGenFinals. October 15, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  23. "Learner Tien, Luca Van Assche qualify for Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  24. "Learner Tien, Luca Van Assche qualify for Jeddah". NextGenFinals. November 26, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  25. "Fonseca, Tien, Landaluce make history with Australian Open qualifying success". ATPTour. January 9, 2025.
  26. "The never-ending evolution of Learner Tien". ATPTour. January 15, 2025.
  27. "American teenager Learner Tien stuns Daniil Medvedev in nearly 3 a.m. finish at the Australian Open". CNN Sports. January 16, 2025.
  28. "Learner Tien beats Daniil Medvedev and is the youngest US man in Australia's 3rd round since Sampras".
  29. "Late-night Learner! Tien sinks Medvedev in Aussie Open thriller". January 16, 2025.
  30. "#NextGenATP Tien joins Nadal in record books, makes Australian Open history; Tien, 19, youngest man to reach R4 at AO in 20 years".
  31. "Learner Tien Match Results, Splits, and Analysis". Tennis Abstract. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  32. Press, Associated (January 16, 2025). "Australian Open: US qualifier Learner Tien stuns Daniil Medvedev in five-set thriller". The Guardian. Retrieved January 17, 2025.