Learner Tian: Why “The sky is the limit” for American stars | ATP Tour

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Learner Tian: Why “the sky is the limit” for American celebrities

Learn more about the 20-year-old’s impressive rise

January 24, 2026

Novice Tiann enters the qualifying rounds for the 2025 Australian Open at No. 121 in the PIF ATP Rankings but remains relatively low profile. The southpaw needed to survive a second-set tiebreak against Grégoire Barrell in the first qualifying round to avoid a straight-sets defeat in his first Grand Slam match outside of the U.S. Open.

Two weeks later, Tenn became a proverbial commodity at Melbourne Park, reaching the fourth round of the main draw, highlighted by a five-set performance in the second round against former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev.

Tien has won three ATP Challenger events to reach his ranking. But the puzzling Medvedev, known for stymieing most players on the ATP Tour, turned out to be the biggest moment of his young career. A year ago, Medvedev was one set away from lifting the Australian trophy when suddenly he was bewildered by a 5-foot-11 19-year-old southpaw.

Didn’t you expect that at the time? certainly. But 52 weeks later, Tien is in a completely new position. The reigning Next Generation ATP Finals champion has a 5-4 record against top-10 opponents and is three weeks shy of a career-high world ranking of No. 26. Medvedev’s victory was clearly no fluke. Indeed, the 20-year-old will have the chance to beat Medvedev again on the same court on Sunday with a stunning 2:54am finish.

“This year’s situation is very different from last year. After one year, I think I have matured a lot as a person and a player,” Tian told ATPTour.com. “I think over the past year I’ve become more independent and I think I’ve gotten more used to life and traveling on my own more and I think because of that I’ve grown a lot as a person and as a player.”

Players like Thien and Joao Fonseca are taking the ATP Tour by storm at such a young age, it’s easy to forget just how young they really are. Tian is still a 20-year-old who could have gone to college at USC and played one semester there if he hadn’t turned pro earlier. He would take classes with his friends and live a typical college student life.

Instead, Tien is entertaining millions of fans around the world and competing against the sport’s biggest stars year-round.

“I think I’ve started to gradually accept that this is my life and hopefully this will be my life for the next few years,” Tian said. “It’s been gradual and I’ve gotten used to it. I wouldn’t say one morning I woke up and I suddenly felt like this is my life and everything fits into my life. But I think over the past year I’ve grown to accept that [being] The new normal, I have accepted it. “

The “new normal” on the pitch really begins in Melbourne. Tian’s performance in the fourth round was just a sign of things to come. The only difference is that the southpaw now brings with him the lessons he learned in his first full season on the ATP Tour, especially after bringing former world No. 2 Michael Chang to his team midway through last season.

“I think I’m better in every aspect. I wouldn’t say the way I play is much different,” Tian said. “I think I’m probably not a facilitator now. I think this year of experience has been good for me and I think I’ve definitely improved a lot, but I wouldn’t say I’m a completely different player.”

One of the reasons Tian was able to compete with such high-level players so easily early in his career is that he has been around top players for most of his tennis career. When the American spoke to the post-match media on Friday, one of his stops was ESPN, where former world No. 11 Sam Querrey was sitting at his desk.

Producers showed old footage of a young Tian batting with Querrey. Lerner has been with Carson’s Quarry and Steve Johnson since they were teenagers.

“Sam and I started hitting with him probably when he was 12 or 13 years old, and he was always either on the side or in the corner,” Johnson said. “Even at that age, you could tell there was something different because our ball didn’t affect him the way most 12, 13-year-old kids do. His timing was unbelievable.”

Johnson was full of praise for Tian’s character. Yes, the former world No. 21 tennis player was and still is impressed with his tennis skills. But he was more in awe of how Tian performed so well in front of professionals at such a young age.

“Even as a young kid, he always seemed to enjoy the moment at Carson. A lot of times, as a little kid, doing the things that Sam and I needed him to do, might not have been that fun for him,” Johnson said. “But we could tell there was a difference in the way he batted, his movements and his demeanor. He was always quiet but positive, never negative and would just take whatever you gave him and most of the time give it back to him with interest.”

When Tien was 15 or 16, he started hitting the baseline with Johnson and Querrey, two longtime pros who are still at the top of the sport.

“It felt almost 50-50. That’s how good he was,” Johnson recalled. “We involved serving, which was a little difficult for him at that age, but that just comes with the territory.

“He is a fantastic tennis forward and can’t wait to see what the future holds for him. He has already achieved so much in his young career and the sky is the limit, especially with the help of Michael [Chang] on the bag. Now he’s just doing whatever it takes. His work ethic is incredible. I watch him work, and every time I see him — he comes to L.A. every few months — I watch him practice and play, and every time he comes back, I’m impressed because he just keeps getting better and better. “