Every so often, a young star emerges out of nowhere in tennis, and it usually takes a surprising underdog victory for this to happen. In the women's divisions, this was Coco Gauff not long ago, but in the men's division, Learner Tien burst onto the scene at the 2025 Australian Open with a massive and out-of-left field victory against Daniil Medvedev. In this article, we will take a closer look at Tien and his tennis career.

Who is Learner Tien?

Learner Tien tennis
Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

Learner Tien is a tennis player from California who is only 19 years old. The highest he has ever been ranked in singles competition is 114th, and he has never ranked higher than 732 in doubles. Tien first started playing tennis at the age of five at the Racquet Club of Irvine.

Tien had an impressive juniors career. He compiled an impressive 76-23 record in singles, even reaching two junior Grand Slam Finals. He also went 36-18 in doubles and even won the 2023 Australian Open with Cooper Williams.

In 2022, Tien earned a wildcard draw into the US Open after winning the USTA Boys 18s National Championship. At 16 years old, he became the youngest men's singles draw at the event since Donald Young in 2005. Tien also received a wildcard into the 2023 US Open.

The 2024 calendar year was Tien's real breakout season, though. He lifted his maiden challenger title at the 2024 Cranbrook Tennis Classic and became the youngest American Challenger champion since 2016. He won the M25, made the quarterfinals of the 2024 Chicago Men's Challenger, and he even extended a winning streak to 28 straight victories.

2025 Australian Open

Tien has become a household name at the 2025 Australian Open, though. There, at just 19 years of age, he defeated fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev was a three-time finalist and a former world number one, but Tien beat him in a thriller that lasted until 3 a.m. in Melbourne, Australia, after a 10-point tiebreaker on the fifth set in the second round. All in all, the match lasted four hours and 49 minutes. There was even a rain delay during the battle.

The epic clash that Tien came out on top of catapulted him into tennis stardom. Despite not having imposing physical traits, Tien is fundamentally sound and has the heart of a champion. He is a gritty performer that does whatever it takes to win. Tien's resiliency against Medvedev was particularly impressive. The youngster had Medvedev frustrated, as he'd already had been during the tournament (Medvedev broke a camera on the net with his racquet earlier).

Medvedev has had an up-and-down career as of late. He didn't get to Australia until just before the tournament because of the birth of his child. While some might attribute his loss to that, you can't take anything away from Tien, as he is clearly trending in the right direction.

Tien is the youngest tennis star to reach the third round since Pete Sampras in 1990. Tien plays with great confidence, and he will next take on Corentin Moutet. Currently ranked 69th in the world, Moutet is also making his third-round Australian Open debut. The two have never faced each other before, and the exact time of their impending matchup is not yet known. Regardless, you will want to tune in because there might be a star in the making with Learner Tien. Hopefully, he still has plenty of energy left after the long and hard-fought tennis match against Medvedev.