“I thought I was going to break the stereotype for Americans on clay, and it didn’t really happen”: Learner Tien reflects on his learning curve in 2025

Learner Tien started the 2026 season at the Brisbane International, where he overcame the first round against Camilo Ugo Carabelli but eventually fell in the second round to Alex Michelsen. The 20-year-old player went from being an interesting young player to follow, to an important asset within the top-30, all in just his first year playing at the ATP level.

In a recent interview with the Nothing Major Podcast – with Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson – world No. 26 Tien opened up about his rapid rise on the tour during 2025, when he achieved his first top-10 victories, his first wins in Grand Slam and Masters 1000 tournaments, as well as his first ATP title.

Until a year ago, Tien’s name was unknown in the tennis world. He reached the final of the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals, losing to Joao Fonseca, who stole all the attention. However, Tien’s 2025 was comparable to the Brazilian’s: ATP 250 title at the Moselle Open and his first ATP 500 final at the China Open. After breaking into the top-30, Tien competed in the Next Gen ATP Finals, and as the first seed, he used his favourite position to end up winning the title in Jeddah.

It was not an easy road for Tien in his second Next Gen appearance. As the only top-100 player in the draw, he began with a loss in the round-robin. He then managed to recover and find his best level, winning the round-robin with four-set triumphs over Landaluce and Kjaer, before advancing to the title with straight-set victories over Basavareddy and Block.

“It was crazy because I lost first round with match points, then I won pretty convincingly in the second round,” recalled the American. “Then suddenly it’s like, if I lose another set, my tournament’s done. That was weird. Especially after I lost the first set, I was thinking, I can’t lose another one or I’m out.” He added regarding his match against Kjaer in the third round-robin match, where he needed a strong set difference to advance: “It’s strange because even getting broken once feels like your tournament’s over. I didn’t even realize I’d won nine sets in a row until after the tournament.”

Tien’s path during 2025 was a series of rapid ascents, despite starting the year barely at world No. 121. He passed the Australian Open qualifiers and reached the fourth round, defeating world No. 5 Daniil Medvedev along the way. It was his debut in the tournament and earned him his first top-10 victory, announcing himself to the world with a leap into the top-80.

“It was a huge confidence boost,” he said about the five-set triumph over Medvedev – a finalist in three of the previous four editions. “After that tournament, I really felt like I belonged at that level. It catapulted me to like 80-something in the rankings. I felt like I wasn’t out against anybody.”

Then came a win against world No. 2 Alexander Zverev in Mexico and a run to the quarterfinals, but over the following weeks, the youngster lost momentum and managed only one win in his next seven tournaments. “Then the clay swing shook my confidence a little bit. I think I won one main-draw match the entire clay swing. That brought me down to earth pretty quick. I thought I was going to break the stereotype for Americans on clay, and it didn’t really happen.”

Tien has quickly earned a reputation on the Tour – already with five top-10 wins in just his first season at the top level, in addition to his first title at the Moselle Open. “It’s definitely easier to get practices now than it was in January,” Tien said about being more recognized in the locker room. “Being a lefty helps sometimes. Usually whoever plays Nishioka or Moutet wants to practice that week, so I get some guaranteed hits.”

The American is one of the few left-handed players at the top level, with only five in the top-30 – all more experienced than him (Shelton, Draper, Shapovalov, and Norrie) – and just 13 lefties in the top-100. “It’s good for me. Sometimes guys don’t want to hit with a lefty, but I don’t take it personally.”