No second guessing, just learning: Tien's recipe for Challenger success

As Learner Tien ascends the ATP Challenger Tour ranks, the 18-year-old’s distinct first name draws attention. Indeed he has been rapidly learning, and succeeding, as a professional. The #NextGenATP star recently became the youngest American Challenger champion since Frances Tiafoe in 2016.

A son of Vietnamese immigrants, Tien and his older sister Justice frequently are asked about the origins of their names, which are directly tied to their parents’ fields of work.

“Mine stemming from my mom, who was a teacher. My sister Justice stemming from my dad being a lawyer. People ask me about it and that’s the whole thing,” Tien told ATPTour.com.

Tien, at a career-high No. 269 in the PIF ATP Rankings, first picked up a racquet as a toddler and received instruction from his father Khuong until his pre-teen years. Tien fondly remembers those early days, when he would linger around the community tennis courts while his father competed in a men’s league. As Tien grew older, playing tennis developed into a daily routine.

“Obviously being homeschooled helped a lot with flexibility and stuff like that with my mom being a teacher. She could teach me at home and then when I was done with school, I would just walk like five minutes to our community courts,” Tien said. “When my dad was done with work, I’d go play for a couple hours. That would be my life day in and day out.”

That priceless father-son time on court paved the way for Tien to begin attending the USTA Training Center in Carson, California at age 10 or 11, he recalls. In 2020, the teen started training at Tier 1 Performance in Newport Beach, California, the same academy at which World No. 61 Alex Michelsen is based.

Michelsen and Tien are the two highest-ranked Americans in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. Tien is ninth in the 20-and-under category, seven spots behind Michelsen, who last year qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.

Fittingly, Tien secured his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title almost exactly a year after Michelsen won his first trophy at that level. A two-time champion at the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships, Tien needed a deciding set in all five of his matches to triumph at this month’s Bloomfield Hills Challenger.

“I was just really happy to get through the [final] because I was down a set and a break, kind of saw the end then I was able to bring it back. A lot of relief to get out of the match,” Tien said. “I'm really happy to get my first Challenger. That was one of the goals that I wanted to cross off my list this year.”

Making a bang in Bloomfield Hills 👊

Learner Tien becomes the third youngest champion of 2024!#OnTheRise | @usta pic.twitter.com/tEYoFHMUck

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) July 7, 2024

Winning the title in just his sixth event at ATP Challenger Tour level should hardly come as a surprise. Tien is known to make an early start in everything he does, having started high school before turning 12 and enrolling at the University of Southern California at age 17. At last year’s US Open, Tien was the youngest player in the main draw.

Tien attended USC and played for the Trojans for one semester before turning pro last summer. Being crowned champion at an ITF M15 event in his home city Irvine opened his eyes to newfound belief.

“I just had this feeling that I felt like mentally, above all things, I was ready. I was ready to fully commit, which is something I wasn’t fully sure of before I went to school,” Tien said. “I always kind of had hesitation when thinking about whether I should go to school or not. I felt like that second guessing of myself was gone.”

Now in his first full season as a professional, Tien’s year did not start as he hoped. He missed three months due to a seventh-rib fracture. “I couldn’t really move my left arm that much. I couldn’t really rotate, definitely couldn’t do anything movement wise in the upper body,” said Tien.

The American has enjoyed a dominant return to action since late May, having won 25 straight matches, 20 of which came at the ITF level and five on the Challenger circuit. In addition to his maiden Challenger trophy, Tien has earned four ITF M15 titles. Tien is the 10th-youngest American Challenger champion since 1990, joining the likes of Andy Roddick, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe.

“It’s really cool to be on a list like that with guys that have accomplished the things that they have,” Tien said. “Obviously their achievements, careers, accomplishments are still a long way to go from what I’ve achieved, but just to feel like you’re on the right path towards a career like what those guys have achieved is definitely cool to think about.”

With the North American hard-court swing just now ramping up, there is no telling how far Tien could go this summer.

Youngest American champions on the ATP Challenger Tour since 1990