Learner Tien is regarded as one of tennis’s most exciting young talents. The 20-year-old has already made quite the splash in tennis, with another former tennis prodigy in his corner.
Tien is enjoying a stunning run at the Australian Open, and capped it with a remarkable 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 upset over Daniil Medvedev in the last 16. A quarterfinal against Alexander Zverev now awaits the Californian, and he will hope to take inspiration from his coach as he looks to plot another big upset.
Learner Tien’s Bond With Michael Chang
Chang pulled off one of tennis’ most remarkable upsets, winning the 1989 French Open at the age of just 17, defeating the likes of Ivan Lendl and Stefan Edberg in the process. He became the youngest male to ever win a single Grand Slam. He went on to win 34 career titles and reached three more Grand Slam finals.
After concluding his playing career, Chang became a coach. He had a decade-long partnership with Kei Nishikori and now coaches Tien. Chang started coaching Tien in July 2025, and the partnership is already yielding strong results.
Tien’s all-court game has improved, making him a more offensively versatile and well-rounded player. This was visible against Medvedev, as Tien delivered an aggressive performance and had answers for everything that was thrown at him.
Following the win, Tien heaped praise on Chang and also spoke about their off-court fishing excursions.
“He’s [Chang] helping me a lot. He’s basically holding my hand as I do it. But it’s really fun. He actually got me my own rod for my birthday last year. So I’m really excited to use it. Just been really fun with him and I hope to keep it going,” he said during his on-court interview (via Australian Open).
The partnership has also worked incredibly well on the court, as evidenced by Tien’s results under Chang.
Tien’s Results Under Chang
Tien and Chang began working together before the North American hardcourt swing last year. The partnership started well, with Tien making the last 16 in both Washington and Canada. A first-round defeat to Novak Djokovic followed at the US Open.
But Tien reached the quarterfinals in Hangzhou before making an incredible run to the final in Beijing.
Tien defeated the likes of Lorenzo Musetti, Flavio Cobolli, and Medvedev before losing to Jannik Sinner in the final. Another encouraging performance followed in Shanghai, where he lost to Medvedev in three sets in the last 16.
A maiden ATP Tour title then followed in November as Tien won the Moselle Open in France, defeating Cameron Norrie in the final 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(6). He followed it up by winning the Next Generation ATP Finals in Saudi Arabia, defeating the likes of Nishesh Basavareddy and Alexander Blockx en route to the title.
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Tien started 2026 with a second-round exit in Brisbane, but he has been putting on a show in Melbourne. And with the way he is going right now, he could spring another big upset against Zverev in the Australian Open quarterfinals.