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Learner Tien

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Learner Tien
Tien at the 2024 US Open
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceIrvine, 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]
CollegeUniversity 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. 80 (27 January 2025)
Current rankingNo. 80 (27 January 2025)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open4R (2025)
US Open1R (2022, 2023, 2024)
Doubles
Career record1–1 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 725 (27 January 2025)
Current rankingNo. 725 (27 January 2025)[1]
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
US Open1R (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. 80 achieved on 27 January 2025. He also has a career-high doubles ranking of No. 725 achieved on 27 January 2025.

Early life

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Tien was born in Irvine, California to Vietnamese parents Khuong Dan Tien and Huyen Tien.[3] His first name, Learner, is inspired by his mother's profession — a math teacher.[4] His sister is named Justice after his father's profession — a real estate lawyer.[3]

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.[3]

Junior career

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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

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

Junior Grand Slam doubles results

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

Professional career

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2022–2023: Junior National champion, Grand Slam debut

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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

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In July, Tien also received a wildcard for the 2024 Cranbrook Tennis Classic in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan where he lifted his maiden Challenger title.[8] He became the youngest American Challenger champion since 2016, when an 18-year-old Frances Tiafoe won in Granby, Canada.[9][10] He also won the M25 in Lakewood, California, increasing his winning streak to 25.[11][12] 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.[13] 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.[14]

He secured a main draw wildcard for the US Open by winning the US Open wildcard challenge.[15][16][17] 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[18] 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.[19]

He won his second Challenger title in Las Vegas, defeating Tristan Boyer,[20] and moved up another 40 positions in the singles rankings to a new career-high of No. 151 on 16 September 2024.[21] He reached the top 125 in the rankings at world No. 124 on 14 October 2024,[22] 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.[23][24] As a result on 26 November 2024, at 18 years old, Tien qualified for the 2024 Next Generation ATP Finals.[25][26]

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

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Ranked No. 121, Tien made his Australian Open debut after qualifying into the main draw.[27] He defeated Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the first round for his maiden Grand Slam win.[28] 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.[29][30][31] 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.[32] His run ended with a loss to Lorenzo Sonego, in 4 sets.

Singles performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(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 SR W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A 4R 0 / 1 3–1
French Open A A A 0 / 0 0–0
Wimbledon A A A 0 / 0 0–0
US Open 1R 1R 1R 0 / 3 0–3
Win–loss 0–1 0–1 0–1 3–1 0 / 4 3–4
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Open A Q1 A 0 / 0 0–0
Miami Open A Q1 A 0 / 0 0–0
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 0 0–0
Career statistics
Tournaments 1 1 2 2 6
Overall win–loss 0–1 0–1 6–4 3–2 9–8
Year-end ranking 860 452 122

ATP Next Generation finals

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Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

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Result    Date    Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss Dec 2024 Next Generation ATP Finals, Saudi Arabia Hard (i) Brazil João Fonseca 4–2, 3–4(8–10), 0–4, 2–4

ATP Challenger and ITF World Tennis Tour finals

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

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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)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jul 2024 Cranbrook Tennis Classic, USA Challenger Hard United States Nishesh Basavareddy 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win 2–0 Sep 2024 Las Vegas Challenger, USA Challenger Hard United States Tristan Boyer 7–5, 1–6, 6–3
Win 3–0 Oct 2024 Fairfield Challenger, USA Challenger Hard Australia Bernard Tomic 6–0, 6–1
Loss 3–1 Nov 2024 Knoxville Challenger, USA Challenger Hard (i) United States Christopher Eubanks 5–7, 6–7(9–11)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Oct 2022 M15 Fayetteville, USA WTT Hard United Kingdom Toby Samuel 3–6, 3–6
Win 1–1 Jun 2023 M15 Irvine, USA WTT Hard United States Quinn Vandecasteele 7–5, 6–2
Win 2–1 Oct 2023 M15 Norman, USA WTT Hard (i) Portugal Duarte Vale 7–6(8–6), 6–2
Win 3–1 Nov 2023 M25 Columbus, USA WTT Hard (i) United Kingdom Jacob Fearnley 2–0 ret.
Win 4–1 May 2024 M15 San Diego, USA WTT Hard Brazil Karue Sell 6–7(6–8), 6–2, 6–2
Win 5–1 Jun 2024 M15 San Diego, USA WTT Hard United States Alafia Ayeni 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–4
Win 6–1 Jun 2024 M15 Rancho Santa Fe, USA WTT Hard United Kingdom Matthew Summers 6–3, 6–1
Win 7–1 Jul 2024 M15 Lakewood, USA WTT Hard United States Govind Nanda 6–3, 6–3

Doubles: 4 (4 titles)

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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)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Nov 2022 M15 East Lansing, USA WTT Hard (i) United States Alex Michelsen United Kingdom Joshua Goodger
United Kingdom Emile Hudd 		6–4, 6–3
Win 2–0 Jun 2023 M15 Irvine, USA WTT Hard United States Bryce Nakashima United Kingdom Joshua Goodger
United Kingdom Matthew Summers 		6–4, 6–2
Win 3–0 Nov 2023 M25 Austin, USA WTT Hard Australia Edward Winter United States Sebastian Gorzny
United States Brayden Michna 		4–6, 6–3, [10–2]
Win 4–0 May 2024 M15 San Diego, USA WTT Hard United States Sebastian Gorzny France Robin Catry
United States Braden Shick 		1–6, 6–3, [10–1]

Junior Grand Slam finals

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Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

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Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 2023 Australian Open Hard Belgium Alexander Blockx 1–6, 6–2, 6–7(9–11)
Loss 2023 US Open Hard Brazil João Fonseca 6–4, 4–6, 3–6

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

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Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 2023 Australian Open Hard United States Cooper Williams Belgium Alexander Blockx
Brazil João Fonseca 		6–4, 6–4

Wins over top-10 players

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  • Tien has a 1–1 record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.[33]
Season 2025 Total
Wins 1 1
# Player Rk Event Surface Rd Score Rk Ref
2025
1. Daniil Medvedev 5 Australian Open, Australia Hard 2R 6–3, 7–6(7–4), 6–7(8–10), 1–6, 7–6(10–7) 121 [34]
  • Key: (Rk) first use, opponent rank; (Rd) round; (Rk) 2nd use, player rank; (Ref) reference; (F) final; (SF) semifinal; (QF) quarterfinal; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Learner Tien". ATP Tour. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  2. ^ "Learner Tien - Men's Tennis - USC Athletics".
  3. ^ a b c Elliott, Helene (July 16, 2023). "Learner Tien's rise has tennis world noticing Southern California left-hander". Los Angeles Times.
  4. ^ "Irvine teenager Learner Tien finds positives after loss at U.S. Open tennis tournament". The Orange County Register. August 30, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "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. ^ "#NextGenATP teens Tien, Debru among youngest Challenger champions of 2024". ATPTour. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
  9. ^ "Tien Wins Cranbrook Tennis Classic, Earns Maiden Challenger Title". July 8, 2024.
  10. ^ "Challenger Q2: #NextGenATP teens Schwaerzler, Debru shine". ATPTour. July 17, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "No second guessing, just learning: Tien's recipe for Challenger success". July 19, 2024.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "Tennis. Lexington (CH) - Hugo Grenier est tombé face au jeune brésilien Fionseca" (in French). August 1, 2024.
  15. ^ @Tennis_Now (August 12, 2024). "Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien have clinched wild cards into the @usopen" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ "Inside Learner Tien's mindset: 'I just kept plugging away'". ATPTour. August 26, 2024. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  18. ^ "#NextGenATP Tien continues dream ATP debut, ousts Marozsan in Winston-Salem". August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  19. ^ "Michelsen, Tien fly #NextGenATP flag in Winston-Salem". August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  20. ^ "Tien, Fearnley continue red-hot form with Challenger titles". ATPTour. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  21. ^ @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.
  22. ^ "ATP Rankings Report – As of Oct. 14, 2024". October 13, 2024.
  23. ^ "Tien topples Tomic at Fairfield Challenger, joins Fritz & Roddick in American history". ATPTour. October 14, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  24. ^ "My Influences: Tien trusting the process & bouncing off Michelsen". NextGenFinals. October 15, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  25. ^ "Learner Tien, Luca Van Assche qualify for Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  26. ^ "Learner Tien, Luca Van Assche qualify for Jeddah". NextGenFinals. November 26, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  27. ^ "Fonseca, Tien, Landaluce make history with Australian Open qualifying success". ATPTour. January 9, 2025.
  28. ^ "The never-ending evolution of Learner Tien". ATPTour. January 15, 2025.
  29. ^ "American teenager Learner Tien stuns Daniil Medvedev in nearly 3 a.m. finish at the Australian Open". CNN Sports. January 16, 2025.
  30. ^ "Learner Tien beats Daniil Medvedev and is the youngest US man in Australia's 3rd round since Sampras".
  31. ^ "Late-night Learner! Tien sinks Medvedev in Aussie Open thriller". January 16, 2025.
  32. ^ "#NextGenATP Tien joins Nadal in record books, makes Australian Open history; Tien, 19, youngest man to reach R4 at AO in 20 years".
  33. ^ "Learner Tien Match Results, Splits, and Analysis". Tennis Abstract. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  34. ^ Press, Associated (January 16, 2025). "Australian Open: US qualifier Learner Tien stuns Daniil Medvedev in five-set thriller". The Guardian. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
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