Learner Tien: What a Difference a Year Makes

Learner Tien faced Daniil Medvedev at the 2025 Australian Open and shocked the tennis world by taking down the former finalist. To the casual observer, Tien seemed like an overnight sensation. But those who followed the Challenger Tour more closely knew better. They’d been tracking his progress for months, watching him accumulate wins and refine his game. The leap to the ATP Tour wasn’t a matter of if but when.

Beating Medvedev on a court where the Russian typically excels surprised many, but Tien earned every bit of that victory. Fast forward to the 2026 Australian Open, and Tien once again defeated Medvedev. This time, however, it wasn’t just a win. It was a statement.

The Numbers Tell the Story

Let’s start with the obvious contrast. The 2025 match lasted nearly five hours and went the full five sets. Tien had decent splits on both serve and return, enough to grind out the victory but nothing that suggested dominance. This year? He won over 60 percent of his second serve points compared to just 40 percent last year. That single statistic explains the difference between a five-set war and a straight-sets demolition.

And demolition is the only word for it. Tien dropped just seven games against a player who once stood in the Australian Open final. The scoreline was clinical. The eye test was even more convincing.

The American exposed everything fragile about Medvedev’s current game. He dictated play in the vast majority of rallies despite lacking the raw power possessed by the elite tier of players. Even without that firepower, Medvedev couldn’t hang. The Russian simply doesn’t have the physicality anymore to counter aggressive play with his trademark defense. There was no stealing points when Tien was on top, no scrambling his way back into games through sheer court coverage.

Playing smart tennis the way peak Djokovic did certainly helped Tien, but the style Medvedev built his career on simply isn’t effective anymore. And it will be even more glaring against players with more power than Tien, players like Alcaraz and Sinner. In many ways, it already has been. The trend isn’t reversing.

Evolution, Not Revolution

Let’s be clear about something: Tien is not the same player he was in 2025. He’s improved tremendously, and more importantly, he’s improved in the areas where he was weakest. He plays an exceptionally smart game, which Medvedev himself acknowledged last year. Even without elite power, Tien was incredibly difficult to play because he did so many things well. 

He’s gotten even better and smarter about those strengths. The power is still lacking compared to other elite players, but he’s made strides there too. If he can reach a respectable power level while maintaining everything else he does well, we’re talking about a genuine Top 10 player for the next decade.

This match was proof that the hard work he put in over the past year and the volume of matches he played made an enormous difference. He’s a different player now. Better, stronger, smarter, more decisive and this isn’t just a hot streak, it’s a proper breakout.

The Zverev Test

The way he handles his upcoming match against Alexander Zverev will tell us everything. If he can somehow win that match, we’ll be having serious Tien conversations for the foreseeable future. In many ways, he’s already cemented himself in that second tier of players, the ones knocking on the door of the elite. And right now, the only direction he’s heading is up.

A year ago, Tien was the promising American with a smart game and limited firepower. Today, he’s the player who just demolished a Grand Slam finalist in straight sets. What a difference a year makes.