Who’s Up Next: American Tennis’ Next Star Learner Tien

In almost every way, things are looking up for American men’s tennis. However, there was a time when things may not have been looking so great at the top of the game. Even then, our team at Cracked Racquets sang the praises of the next-gen cohort of players like Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Tommy Paul, knowing that the future remained bright. 

Now that the future has arrived and as those players and others continue to excel, there’s a brand new crop of young players aiming to compete for the biggest titles in the world. By now, you may have already heard of players like Ben Shelton and Sebastian Korda, but we’re getting back to our roots here as we highlight the junior players with whom you may not be as familiar, but we think can be successful at the highest levels.

Each article in this series will feature one American player aged 21 or younger in order to provide a detailed breakdown of their games and results up until this point. In case you missed it, click here to read the previous edition of this series about rising star Alex Michelsen. With all of that said, let’s take a deep dive into the game of Learner Tien!

Early Success

Learner Tien, born on December 2, 2005, has already experienced quite a bit of success in his short career. A blue-chip player, he was considered to be the #1 recruit in his class according to Tennis Recruiting Network.  Earlier this year, Tien won the boy’s doubles title at the 2023 Australian Open Junior Championships partnering with Cooper Williams. It was quite the event for the 17-year-old in Melbourne as he also managed to reach the boy’s singles final after beating both the 7th seed and 2nd seed before ultimately losing out to Alexander Blockx in the final in a 3rd set tiebreak that ended at 11-9.

Tien also won the USTA Boys 18s National Championships in Kalamazoo over Ethan Quinn at the age of 16, which also earned him a spot in the Main Draw of the 2022 US Open. With that appearance, the American became the youngest player to compete in the men’s singles main draw at the US Open since 2005, which coincidentally, was the year Tien was born. In his first-round match, he was even able to take the first set against No. 32 seed Miomir Kecmanovic in what turned out to be a four-set loss. Along with all of his other junior success, the talented left-hander also has captured an ITF Grade 1 International Open Title in San Diego and reached a Junior Wimbledon QF to boot.

Game Style & Weapons

It only takes a short amount of time watching Tien do his thing on a tennis court to realize how much potential he has. At just 17 years old, Tien hasn’t even come close to his peak both physically and technically. Despite this, the traits for him to be a top player in the near future are evident. Tien is listed at 6’1 though he may not be done growing given how young he is, and he by all means has not completely filled out in terms of adding extra pounds of muscle to his frame. What stands out about Tien’s physicality is the quick-twitch athleticism and fluidity that allows him to suddenly change direction and burst in and out of corners. He is quite comfortable sliding into his shots on both wings and displays flashes of the defensive nightmare he is one day capable of being. 

Off the ground, Tien’s backhand stroke production is incredibly solid and compact and doesn’t really have any massive technical issues. He’s able to generate pretty consistent depth and pace off of that wing and is comfortable absorbing pace to take shots cross-court or down the line. At this stage of his development, the backhand is also probably a more dependable shot than his forehand. Speaking of the forehand, the lefty groundstroke certainly is capable of being a real game-breaker on its day. At his best, Tien’s spinny forehand and clean ball striking can make the forehand a very formidable weapon, though there are times that the forehand can be exploited if Tien is rushed, causing him to leave the ball hanging a little short on that side.

Overall, the ground game is incredibly solid and I expect him to become an even more well-rounded baseliner as his game continues to develop. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of his game is the return of serve. Given his natural ability to absorb pace and redirect, it’s no shocker that Tien shows signs of being an excellent returner. He’s able to generate solid depth and employs a very aggressive return stance where he stands into the court in order to effectively cut off the wide serve on the deuce side, as well as punish weaker second serves.

When it comes to his own serve, I do feel as though that is the one aspect of his game Tien can improve the most. Perhaps the biggest thing on the shot is to just wait for Tien to physically fill out and get stronger, though I feel that he could do a slightly better job of using his entire body to generate more power. In its current form, he depends on his arm to generate a lot of his pace, so it may be beneficial if he could find a way to incorporate using his legs more into his motion in order to get more out of his serve.

Mental Toughness

Even with all his physical tools, what is most impressive about Tien is his ability to stay calm in the biggest moments. On the court, Tien is incredibly composed and never seems to outwardly show any negative emotion. His steely nerves and cool demeanor are traits rarely seen in a player his age.

College Tennis

After struggling with eligibility rules all season, the Learner Tien bomb was dropped on everyone in the college tennis world on Friday, April 14th as Tien was announced as a part of the lineup for the USC Trojans prior to their matchup against Oregon. Starting at the #1 doubles spot alongside Bradley Frye, the freshman was able to notch his first win in his collegiate tennis debut. Now slotting in the singles lineup at the #2 spot, Tien now makes this Trojan team a force to be reckoned with as we now get to see whether this team can be a true contender with their newest star in the lineup heading into the postseason. With all eyes focused on NCAA Championships, it will certainly be interesting to monitor how Tien and the Trojans fare over the course of the next month.

Whether you’re rooting for or against the Trojans, any U.S. tennis fans out there better watch out for Learner Tien!