ITF Class of 2024: Learner Tien
Sport has a habit of showcasing rather aptly-named individuals.
You could hardly have dreamed of a better denomination for the world’s fastest man than Usain Bolt, nor for Australian former middle-distance runner Lisa Lightfoot or the likes of ex-American fencer Jeff Spear.
Emerging young tennis star Learner Tien might not have a moniker quite as appropriate for his sport as countryman Tennys Sandgren, but his name rather perfectly sums up his journey in tennis this year.
The 19-year-old – a teen, no less - is a mighty fast learner when it comes to his development in professional tennis.
His 2024 season has been a spectacular story of growth and progress, and his yearning to develop has borne out in his results on court.
Tien has captured seven professional titles and recorded 60 match-wins across both the ITF World Tennis Tour and ATP Challenger Tour – super-charging his ranking and earning a spot at the Next Gen ATP Finals (to be held in Jeddah on the 18-22 December) as a result.
His place amongst the sport’s best young male players at the 20-and-under-event in Saudi Arabia was anything but assured at the start of the year, which he began outside the world’s Top 450, but his scintillating season has more than justified it.
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Tien, who reached a high of No. 4 in the ITF junior rankings in 2023 after finishing runner-up in the boys’ singles events at both the Australian and US Opens (and won the boys' doubles crown in Melbourne with Cooper Williams), also had to contend with an injury-interrupted start to his pro transition year in 2024.
He fractured a rib during a first round defeat at M25 Naples in February and didn’t strike a competitive ball again on the World Tennis Tour until he arrived at M15 San Diego on 27 May, but boy did he return to the game in style.
Tien promptly launched a 28-match winning streak that took in back-to-back titles at M15 San Diego, before sandwiching titles at M15 Rancho Santa Fe and M15 Lakewood either side of his first ATP Challenger title at Bloomfield Hills.
“Man, Learner’s just super tough,” said colleague and compatriot Govind Nanda, who twice fell victim to Tien in 2024. “He moves you around a lot and plays very high percentage and then kind of pulls the trigger when he wants to without much risk.
“At this point he’s rising pretty fast.”
That he is. Tien reached a high of No. 114 in the ATP rankings in November, putting him in a prime position to chase for a double-digit ranking in early 2025.
If he continues this year’s form, you wouldn’t bet against him achieving that sooner rather than later.